Raids by police and tradings standards officers see £50k worth of illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vapes seized in Wakefield city centre

Four premises in the city centre were visited during the swoop on Tuesday (June 13) following concerns around the sale of illicit cigarettes and tobacco at reduced prices.

Two were licensed to sell alcohol, the other two were described as “pop and crisp” shops, which officers say are usually found operating in town centres, but often found to be selling illegal products ranging from illicit counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco, along with a new trend of illegal Vapes above 600puffs.

The multi-agency blitz, co-ordinated by officers from Wakefield North NPT and West Yorkshire Trading Standards, discovered two unlicensed shops were found to be making illegal cigarettes and tobacco available at discounted prices.

Both premises had sophisticated concealments, one hidden under shelving in the storeroom in the floor, the other hidden behind what would normally be a cigarette display cabinet.

There was also a large number of boxes of illegal cigarettes and tobacco seized from one of the shops, with a further amount found hidden in a rear storeroom at the store.

Around 8,000 packets of cigarettes were seized, along with 400 packets of 50g rolling tobacco, along with a number of illegal vapes above 600puffs, all being sold illegally, which had an estimated value of around £50,000.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “The aim of the day of action was to simultaneously visit four shops in Wakefield city centre, all intelligence led, for illegal cigarettes and tobacco being sold at discounted prices avoiding HMRC Tax revenue.

"This day of action clearly shows that when the authorities and relevant agencies work together, they can have a major impact on the criminality operating in the Wakefield district.”

British Gas revenue and protection officers also attended all four shops to ensure that there was no illegal abstraction taking place.

The two licensed premises were found to have some form of tampering in the electrical main breakers, but the unlicensed shops were found to be clearly abstracting electricity.

This needed Northern Power Engineers to be urgently called out to make the electrical power supply safe.

Officials will now conduct follow up enquiries with the bill payers and will take relevant actions.

The licensed premises were checked for compliance by Wakefield Council’s Licensing Enforcement staff and police licensing officers.

One of the premises was found to be in breach of the ‘premises operating schedule’ and will now face formal action.

Immigration officers also found two males in one of the shops, one had no right to work in the UK, the other had a work permission, but this did not extend to working in a retail environment.

Follow up enquiries with the males are ongoing, which may result in their rights to remain in the country being revoked.

Anyone with information about illicit tobacco and vape can call police on 101, contact West Yorkshire Trading Standards or make a tip-off anonymously at https://keep-it-out.co.uk/anonymous-reporting/?fbclid=IwAR1e2vEUNYd69xNzuDoRIrBCk3FOn6eZZ7kljCA_4aMUW7fn-ZHJSf02tPg.