Working with Kent County Council’s Trading Standards team, Dover’s Community Safety Unit carried out visits to businesses across the district on Wednesday 3 July 2024.
Seven shops were inspected, resulting in officers locating the vapes in one of the premises. A visit to a second business also led officers to uncover the counterfeit tobacco.
Dover town beat officer PC Ben Goff said: ‘This work was carried out after we received information regarding the sale of the illegal goods in the area. We continue to support Trading Standards in their investigation following these seizures.
‘Very often the sale of illicit tobacco helps to fund organised criminal gangs which causes wider implications in the community, so any reports made to authorities regarding businesses selling such products are looked into robustly.’
A spokesman for KCC Trading Standards said: ‘This operation was a great success and is an excellent example of how all partner agencies working together can have such a huge impact on this area of illegal activity. In total over 3,000 cigarettes, 2kg of hand rolling tobacco and 1,000 illegal vapes were removed from the town centre.
‘Trading Standards will continue to organise and coordinate activity to target those individuals and businesses causing the greatest amount of harm to our communities and the legitimate economy. Anyone wishing to report the sale of illegal tobacco can do so at www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk or by contacting Crimestoppers.’
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