Stashes of illegal vapes and cigarettes worth £84,000 seized in Chorley and Preston

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards officers joined forces with Lancashire Constabulary to seize more than 5,600 packs of illegal cigarettes, hand rolling tobacco, and over-sized illegal vapes.

In a day of action on Wednesday 24 January, at three 'problem premises', two in Chorley and one in Preston, counterfeit brands seized included Richmond, Regal, Amber Leaf and Lambert and Butler, as well as less familiar brands such as Manchester, and Pect, from a number of hiding places, including under floorboards.

Councillor Michael Green, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for health and wellbeing said: "Seizing £84,000 of illicit goods in just one day shows how hard our officers and the police work to tackle this important issue.

"Preventing the sale of illicit goods keeps children safe from underage sales and protects the health of residents in Lancashire, which is very important to us.

"Our Trading Standards team will continue to keep seizing illicit tobacco and non-compliant vapes and will take any necessary enforcement action against rogue traders.

"I encourage anyone to report shops that flout the law. Anyone who knows of retailers selling counterfeit goods, selling tobacco or e–cigarettes to young people under 18, or selling over-sized or counterfeit vapes, can refer these issues to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice helpline on 0808 223 1133."

PC Nichola Lewis from the Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “It is really concerning that these types of dangerous products could get into the hands of young people and that’s why working with Trading Standards on operations like this is so important to us.

“This was a huge seizure and it sends out a really strong message that we will continue to crackdown on the sale of illegal and counterfeit products.’’