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£14,000 worth of illegal vapes, cigarettes seized in Doncaster

£14,000 worth of illegal vapes, cigarettes seized in Doncaster
Image from South Yorkshire Police

Around £14,000 worth of illegal vapes, cigarettes, cigars and nicotine pouches have been recovered from off-licences in Doncaster as part of a night-time operation.

According to South Yorkshire Police, officers from its GRIP team, which carries out daily patrols of crime hotspots, were in Doncaster city centre during last week's Operation Duxford. During a joint operation with Doncaster City Council's Trading Standards department, eight premises were visited with officers seizing 1,549 illegal vapes.

They also recovered 556 packets of illicit cigarettes, 37 packets of illicit hand rolling tobacco, five illegal cigar packets and seven illegal nicotine pouches. All of these items were worth an approximate combined total of £14,000.

The team also worked alongside Environmental Health and Immigration officers to visit takeaways and restaurants, with one man arrested on suspicion of immigration offences. Drugs wipes were carried out at city centre bars and 14 stop and searches were conducted with one found in possession of cannabis and another found in possession of cocaine.

Joseph Gourdin, a GRIP team constable, said, "Our patrols focus on hotspot areas and it was encouraging to hear so much positive feedback from members of the public during these operations.

"We will continue to serve our communities in key identified areas through high visibility patrols that will allow us to engage with members of the public and reassure the people of South Yorkshire."

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