£20,000 worth of banned imported food, illegal tobacco, and illicit vapes were discovered during two raids that took place in Rugeley on Thursday 18 July.
In total, over 450 oversized vapes, 14kg worth of illegal tobacco, 15,400 illegal cigarettes, and 196 illegal food items were discovered.
The raids were carried out by Trading Standards officers from Staffordshire County Council and supported by Staffordshire Police.
Victoria Wilson, the Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member, stated: “The illicit tobacco market is closely linked to organised crime and harms local communities and legitimate businesses, so removing it from the market is vital.”
She also stated “teams are also seeing a huge increase in the availability of oversized and illegal vapes, many of which are targeted at children. An increasing number of these are now advertising 12,000 puff capability, which is ten times the legal limit.”
Staffordshire County Council encourage those who encounter illegal or counterfeit products to contact them on the Trading Standard’s confidential helpline, which is 01785330356.
Experienced writer and journalist James McKean leads the daily editorial output at StaffsLive. To contact him, email news@staffslive.co.uk
