Police seize £10,000 worth of illegal tobacco and vapes in Shirley operation

Police seized around £10,000 worth of illegal tobacco and vapes during an operation targeting three businesses in Shirley earlier this week.

On Wednesday (4 March), officers from the force’s dedicated Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime team carried out enforcement activity alongside colleagues from the Shirley and Freemantle Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Southampton City Council Trading Standards.

The operation focused on three premises in Shirley following intelligence suggesting the businesses were involved in the sale of illegal tobacco, non-compliant vapes and knives. There were also concerns that staff at the locations may have been working illegally or could have been vulnerable to exploitation.

During the visits, officers discovered and seized a quantity of illegal tobacco and vape products with an estimated value of around £10,000. Police said the items had been concealed inside the stores in an attempt to avoid detection.

Officers also spoke with workers at the premises to ensure their welfare and check they were safe and not being taken advantage of.

PC Antony Waghorn, from the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime team, said:

“We, along with our partners, are committed to identifying and tackling criminal activity that harms our communities, exploits vulnerable people and undermines legitimate local businesses.

“As part of this operation, we removed a significant quantity of illegal tobacco products and vapes from circulation and spoke with workers to ensure they were safe, supported and not being taken advantage of. Protecting people from exploitation remains at the heart of our work.

“We will continue to pursue those responsible for organising and profiting from this type of offending and ensure they are held to account.”

Police are encouraging anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco or vapes, or concerns about exploitation or criminal activity elsewhere, to contact police on 101 or report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.