Around £36,000 of illegal vapes and tobacco have been seized following raids by Havering Council’s trading standards teams, as reported by London Now.
The raids took place at two businesses in Romford and led to the removal of around £36,000 worth of goods from circulation.
The operation involved council enforcement officers, Havering’s S92 police team, and sniffer dogs funded through Operation CeCe, a UK-wide crackdown on illegal tobacco trading, reports our sister title London Now.
The action followed reports of illegal sales taking place within the borough.
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Helen Oakerbee, Havering’s director of planning and public protection, said: "This is another great example of the work our trading standards and enforcement teams do, working alongside the police, to help keep our residents safe.
"We will continue to take the strongest action against those committing these crimes and won’t tolerate anyone or any business selling illegal or counterfeit goods in our borough."
Although investigations are ongoing, the two businesses involved have not been named at this stage.
Operation CeCe is an HMRC funded operation targeting the illegal tobacco trade within the UK.
It is estimated that the UK economy loses £1.8 billion a year to this illegal activity.
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