£12,000 of illegal tobacco and vapes seized in operation

Evidence was gathered in an investigation over several weeks as part of Operation CeCe.

The team along with officers from Havering police, raided two Romford businesses earlier this week.

They seized 535 vapes, and over 400 boxes of cigarettes.

All of these items were either non-compliant with UK regulations or illegal to sell within the UK.

The estimated retail value of these items is thought to be around £12,000. 

Council officers were joined by police officers, plus Council-funded sniffer dogs who are specially trained to detect tobacco.

Upon arriving at one of the premises, officers found cigarettes and vapes concealed in a magnetically sealed box and removed them.

Our trading standards team continues to investigate and further enquiries are ongoing in relation to the counterfeit products that were seized.

The business cannot be named at this time due to the ongoing investigations.

This is the third time in eight months, where the team has helped to take dangerous products like this off the streets. 

In March this year, Trading Standards recovered around £35,000 worth of similar items and again in June, seized products worth an estimated £18,000.

Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said:

“This is another great result from our trading standards team who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to carry out this raid.

“Working in partnership with the police, this operation has once again seen illegal and harmful products taken off the streets in our borough.

“Together with the police, we aim to keep our residents as safe as possible.

"That’s why we will always take the strongest possible action against those trying to sell these harmful products.”