Action will be taken against a number of shops after raids by City of Wolverhampton Council found tens of thousands of illicit cigarettes, hundreds of banned disposable vapes and a range of suspected fake Labubu products.

Other items seized include illicit tobacco products, non-duty paid shisha tobacco, banned oral tobacco, perfume with suspect trademarks and sweets and chocolates that do not satisfy UK labelling regulations.

Acting on complaints, four shops and one van were inspected by Trading Standards officers, along with partners from Wolverhampton Police and trained detection dog Rookie from Specialist K9s Limited.

In total officers seized 54,065 single cigarettes - 46,950 of these were found in the van. A further 430 banned disposable vapes, 237 pouches of banned oral tobacco, 35 pouches of hand rolling tobacco, 8.5kg of non-duty paid shisha tobacco and four tubs of foreign labelled nicotine pouches were found.

Other items seized were 294 suspected counterfeit Labubu keyrings, six suspected counterfeit Labubu dolls, 175 roll-on perfumes with suspect Chanel, Armani and Tom Ford trademarks, as well as 303 packets of American and Labubu-branded sweets and chocolates that do not satisfy UK labelling regulations.

If genuine, the retail value of all goods seized would be estimated at £51,700. The duty evaded would come to more than £28,000.

The seizures were carried out under national Trading Standards initiative Operation CeCe and action will now be taken against the owners of premises where the material was seized. Further investigations will be carried out to identify their suppliers.

Once investigations have been completed, the illegal cigarettes and tobacco will be handed over to a recycling scheme to be dealt with in an environmentally friendly way.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “We are absolutely committed to the safety of our residents and we will not hesitate to clamp down on the sales of illicit and counterfeit products.

“This is the time of year that families might be looking for presents for their children or gifts for others and we will not accept the sale of items which could be dangerous.

“Our officers work throughout the year to carry out operations to protect residents and genuine businesses from the issues caused by the sale of illicit vapes and tobacco. Counterfeit products contain an increased danger to health as they do not follow UK regulations.

“Thank you to everyone involved in this successful partnership operation, including our Trading Standards team, Wolverhampton Police and tobacco detection dog Rookie.”

Lord Michael Bichard, Chair, National Trading Standards, said: “The illicit tobacco trade is driven by organised criminal gangs and poses serious risks to local communities, especially young people.

“Since its launch, Operation CeCe – a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC that City of Wolverhampton Council, part of CEnTSA (Central England Trading Standards Authorities), supports – has removed 69 million illegal cigarettes, 19,750kg of hand-rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, helping to clamp down on this illicit trade and protect communities and honest businesses across the UK.” 

Officers from our Trading Standards team have issued some warning signs to look out for when buying cigarettes or tobacco.

The telltale signs of illegal tobacco include unusual taste, cheap price, unusual packaging, spelling mistakes or incorrect logos. They may also have health warnings that may not be printed in English, might not display a picture, might not be printed on a white background and may have different sized lettering to usual.

Anyone who thinks they may have been sold illegal goods or suspect someone is selling them can email trading.standards@wolverhampton.gov.uk