Staffordshire Police and Stoke City Council’s Trading Standards team staged raids on 19 March that netted a haul of illegal cigarettes and other tobacco products from five premises around the city.
Three shops in Longton and two in Stoke had products worth £14,000 seized; all of those visited had previously sold illegal tobacco. Police also impounded a car at one of the premises in Longton on the grounds of it not being taxed or insured.
Cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability, Cllr Amjid Wazir said the raids were an “example of partnership work that is making Stoke-on-Trent a safer place”, adding that it sent a “clear message – illegal tobacco sales will not be tolerated, and you will face serious consequences”.
Operation CeCe is tackling illegal tobacco nationwide
The raids took place as part of Operation CeCe, an initiative led by National Trading Standards and HMRC to clamp down on the sale of illegal tobacco.
Launched in January 2021, this initiative is part of a wider government strategy to disrupt the organised crime networks behind the importation of illegal tobacco products. In its first year the operation led to 1,700kg of hand rolled tobacco and 66kg of shisha worth £2.7mn being seized and since its launch 69 million illegal cigarettes and 19,750kg of hand rolled tobacco have been removed from sale in the UK .
Wendy Martin, Director of National Trading Standards said in October 2021 that Operation CeCe had successfully tackled “supply lines at source by shutting down illegal factories, intercepting smuggled product and cash at the border and disrupting illegal sales in shops and markets. All of which is achieved through close collaboration with law enforcement and other partners.”
At the same time Simon York, Director of Fraud Investigation at HMRC said the operation showed “our determination to tackle the menace of illicit tobacco. This is a trade that costs the UK taxpayer around £2.3bn a year, undermining our vital public services and bankrolling a host of other crimes that harm communities, including guns, drugs and human trafficking.”
In a further development, in 2023 the Trading Standards teams at local authorities were given the power to refer cases involving the sale of illegal tobacco to the HMRC.
Police and local authorities working together crack down on retail crime
Speaking about the raids in the city earlier this month Inspector Rebecca Price of Stoke-on-Trent South local policing team said, “Retailers who don’t comply with the law are putting local people at risk and such criminality will not be tolerated.” She added that they would continue “to work alongside local partners to target the supply of tobacco in Stoke-on-Trent.”
Cllr Wazir said, “Illegal tobacco harms legitimate business and can be linked to wider criminal activity – those storing it will be held accountable. We are committed to making Stoke-on-Trent a fairer, safer city for all.”
Anyone in the city with concerns about the sale of illegal tobacco or vapes, or the sale of tobacco products to people who are underaged, is urged to contact Trading Standards on theirhotline at 01782 238884 or by visiting www.stoke.gov.uk/tradingstandards.
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