Three shops across Huntingdonshire have had thousands of illegal products seized following tip-offs from concerned members of the public.

On Wednesday, September 25, a joint operation was carried out and 800 illegal vapes, 11,500 illegal cigarettes and 5kg of hand rolling tobacco were seized from three shops in St Neots, Huntingdon and Ramsey.

The seizures were part of a multi-agency operation involving Cambridgeshire County Council's Trading Standards, HMRC, Huntingdonshire District Council's Licensing and Housing Teams, the St Neots Neighbourhood Police Team and Wagtail Tobacco dogs.

The operation commenced after the organisation's received an "influx" of intelligence from concerned members of the public.

There have been several raids across Cambridgeshire throughout 2024.

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Shops in Ely and Littleport were both targeted, as well as some in March and Chatteris. 

This most recent operation is the second time this year that a shop in Ramsey has had illegal products seized.

Prior to the September operation, 5,600 illegal vapes had been seized in 2024. The number is now 6,400. 

The raids are part of an ongoing multi-agency enforcement to tackle the supply of illegal tobacco, vape and nicotine products.

In 2023, Trading Standards seized 8,800 vapes, more than 26,000 illicit cigarettes and 38 packs of hand rolling tobacco in Cambridgeshire.

The vapes are sent to a dedicated recycling facility once they have been seized by the council.

One of the main issues with vapes is tank sizes that are illegal in the UK due to the quantities of liquid they contain, and vapes that wrongly state they contain no nicotine.

Peter Gell, Service Director Regulatory Services, said: "These ongoing, targeted enforcement operations send a clear message to the shops that supply these products, and the organised crime gangs behind these crimes, that the sale of illegal vapes won’t be tolerated in Cambridgeshire.

"We are committed to taking a hard line with anyone we uncover perpetrating these crimes."