Illegal tobacco and vapes worth nearly £5,000, believed to be linked to a shop in Stroud, have been seized by Gloucestershire County Council trading standards officers.
Following reports from concerned parents that a shop was selling vapes to under 18s, trading standards officers visited the shop in January 2025.
They followed this up with a covert test purchase of illegal Richmond branded cigarettes, confirming their suspicions that the shop also sold illegal tobacco. A further inspection at the shop on 7 February 2025 failed to locate any illegal products in the shop but officers were suspicious that illegal items were being stored in nearby vehicles.
The trading standards officers subsequently identified a suspect vehicle and waited nearby. Within minutes, a man opened the vehicle and got in. The officers approached the man in the vehicle and made themselves known to him before beginning a search. They found 488 packets of illegal and counterfeit cigarettes, 110 pouches of illegal and counterfeit hand rolling tobacco and 137 illegal and oversized vapes. The officers seized the items and a mobile phone.
Police also received a report of cannabis being found in a vehicle close to the scene. The drugs were seized but no arrests have been made.
The trading standards investigation is continuing.
Cllr Dave Norman, cabinet member for trading standards at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Illegal tobacco harms the trade of legitimate suppliers and poses a risk to public health. This seizure shows that our trading standards team will work tirelessly to keep these harmful products off the streets and we are grateful to the community for information they pass to us.”
Anyone with information about the supply of illegal tobacco and vapes can report it to trading standards by calling 01452 426060 or visit the website www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/trading-standards
