Preston Police and Trading Standards seize £84,000 worth of illegal cigarettes

Some of the over-sized and counterfeit cigarettes seized during raids Pic: Lancashire County Council

A ‘problem premises’ in Preston has been raised by police and trading standards officers.

Lancashire County Council said the shop in Preston – no information was given as to where in the city – and two shops in Chorley had been visited and more than 5,600 packs of illegal cigarettes, hand rolling tobacco and over-sized illegal vapes were seized.

The ‘day of action’ on Wednesday (24 January) saw counterfeit brands uncovered including Richmond, Regal, Amber Leaf, Lambert and Butler, Manchester and Pect – with products hidden throughout the shops including under floorboards.

The county council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, councillor Michael Green, 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.”

Anyone who suspects a shop is flouting the law and selling counterfeit goods, tobacco or e-cigarettes to young people under 18 can contact Trading Standards on 08082231133.

PC Nichola Lewis from the Neighbourhood Policing Team at Preston Police 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”

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