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Approximately £1.4 million of unlawful vapes and counterfeit items have been uncovered by Walsall Trading Standards officers following a joint operation with specialist sniffer canines.
The enforcement exercise, a part of the nationwide Operation CeCe crackdown on illicit tobacco and vapes, passed off on Thursday July 25, 2025. Officers initially visited two retail premises within the borough, the place sniffer canines situated unlawful cigarettes, tobacco and vapes—even from a complicated concealment and a hidden ceiling compartment.
The workforce then moved on to a self-storage yard in Walsall, the place sniffer canines Griff and Cooper alerted officers to 4 suspicious containers. Two had been discovered to be full of greater than 9,000 unlawful vapes and a big quantity of counterfeit designer items, together with clothes, perfumes, watches and footwear. The remaining containers additionally contained unlawful merchandise hid amongst respectable inventory.
In whole, over 1,200 gadgets of pretend clothes had been seized. High-end manufacturers corresponding to Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Boss, Tag Heuer, Off-White and Balenciaga had been amongst these counterfeited—possible meant on the market on on-line marketplaces.
If real, the seized items are estimated to have had a retail worth of round £1.4 million, making this the most important ever seizure by Walsall Trading Standards.
The gadgets have been taken to safe storage whereas investigations proceed.
“ This is a severe end result and sends a transparent message that Walsall is not going to tolerate unlawful buying and selling. Thanks to the exhausting work of all concerned, a major quantity of harmful and counterfeit good won’t ever see the sunshine of day.
“In Walsall, we’re bringing again the drive into enforcement, and we received’t cease in our mission to make our dwelling secure, vibrant and clear.
“These counterfeit and unlawful merchandise don’t simply threaten shopper security—they injury respectable native companies and assist fund organised crime.
“I wish to thank our Trading Standards workforce and companions for his or her relentless work to guard residents. “
“ The illicit tobacco commerce is pushed by organised prison gangs and poses severe dangers to native communities, particularly younger individuals.
“Since its launch in January 2021, Operation CeCe – a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC – has eliminated 69 million unlawful cigarettes, 19,750kg of hand-rolling tobacco and nearly 175kg of shisha merchandise from sale, serving to to clamp down on this illicit commerce and defend communities and trustworthy companies throughout the UK. “
Operation CeCe is a joint initiative between National Trading Standards and HMRC. Investigations into this newest case are ongoing.
ENDS
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