A large amount of illegal cigarettes, tobacco and disposable vapes with a retail value of almost £30,000 was seized across Walsall last week as part of a crackdown on the illicit tobacco trade.
Walsall Trading Standards, in partnership with West Midlands Police and a specialist search dog team, swooped on local shops and one associated vehicle during last week’s raids. The haul took place under Operation CeCe, which is a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC to tackle illegal tobacco.
The intelligence-led raids also found two males working without the right to work in the UK. They were referred to HM Immigration for further investigation.
The seizures included 20,640 illegal cigarettes, 2.95 kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco and 1,278 illegal disposable vapes. Many of the disposable vapes seized contained 9000 puffs when the legal limit is approximately 600.
Three highly trained sniffer dogs, Cooper, Griff and Bran, assisted the team and Bran identified a highly-sophisticated hydraulic lift which rose from the floor when operated by a remote control. Coffee grains had been sprinkled over the concealment to try and deter the dogs.
“Walsall retailers dealing in illegal tobacco will not be tolerated. They are encouraging crime amongst the community and putting vulnerable people at risk. This crackdown makes it clear that we will do everything within our power to keep our people safe and make criminal businesses face the law,” said Cllr Garry Perry, deputy leader and portfolio holder for resilient communities.
Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, added: “The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law. Having removed 21 million illegal cigarettes, 5,800kg of hand rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”
Employment Rights Bill has been passed at all its stages in the House of Commons and will now be considered in the House of Lords.
The landmark legislation seeks to end unfair employment practices and make work more secure.
The Employment Rights Bill will ban exploitative zero-hours contract and provide a right to a regular hours contract and make Statutory Sick Pay available from day one of absence and to all workers, regardless of income.
Day-one access to employment rights, including challenging an unfair dismissal, will be granted while the bill require employers to protect staff from customer harassment.
The bill also give trade unions the right to access workplaces, to recruit and organise workers, simplify the trade union recognition process to give workers a voice and introduce statutory rights for workplace equalities representatives.
The bill will limit the use of fire and rehire and create a fair work agency to put enforcement of employment rights into a single body.
The Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords.
Although it may be a few months before we have the final version, and much of the detail will in any event remain to be set out in regulations, employers may wish to start considering how the new rights will impact their business.
Commenting on the progression of the bill, Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says,“Usdaw has long campaigned for a new deal for workers and the Employment Rights Bill delivers on that.
"This landmark legislation will contribute to Labour’s mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities.
"The Bill also builds on the action already taken by Labour in Government to significantly increase minimum wage rates from April, with the Low Pay Commission for the first time required to take into account the cost of living and make progress towards ending rip-off youth rates.
“Labour won the last election on the promise of change and because the Conservatives failed to grow our economy, didn’t protect workers in the cost of living crisis and repeatedly attacked workers’ rights and trade unions.
"It is disappointing that Tory MPs were whipped into opposing the Employment Rights Bill, which only demonstrates that they’ve not listened to voters or learnt the lessons of 14 years of failure.
“It was no surprise that Reform leader Nigel Farage voted against the Bill. It is clear that Reform is no friend of working people. They continue to seek to divide workers, rather than supporting critical measures to improve their working lives.
"Recent polling shows that voters in every constituency overwhelmingly support key measures in the Bill. We will be asking Members of the House of Lords to give their full backing to this crucial legislation and ensure that it is delivered in full.”
“This historic legislation will help end years of low-paid, insecure employment, which failed our economy, businesses and working people. The Employment Rights Bill will help secure economic growth by improving productivity after years of stagnation.
"It will help stop rogue employers undercutting those who treat their staff properly, while giving workers security, respect and the decency of an income they can live on.”
Highland Spring Group, leading UK producer of natural source waters, said it successfully completed a competitive process to refinance its business.
The company has announced that the Bank of Scotland and Barclays, as its funding banks, will provide support as it progresses towards its stated ambition of £200 million sales by 2030.
In 2023, the business grew its sales in the year by 15.5 per cent to £130.6m and the Highland Spring brand consolidated its position as the UK’s number one plain water brand for a seventh successive year.
The company said the financial backing, which includes term and revolving credit facilities of £50m, will further accelerate the evolution of the brand and business to meet the growing demands of retail partners and consumers for healthy, high-quality, British products.
“The Bank of Scotland and Barclays funding provides a springboard for us to further invest in our business to boost sustainable growth. This package reflects their confidence in our strong operational and market performance, talented team, and iconic brand,” John Young, finance director, Highland Spring Group, said.
“We are delighted to work with both organisations as we continue to scale up and bring our exceptional products to even more retailers and customers across the UK.”
Building on the strength of the Highland Spring brand continues to be the main priority of the business, with an emphasis on expanding the business’s portfolio of products and packaging formats. A recent successful launch into the 400 million litres flavoured water category, with a new Highland Spring Flavoured Still Water range was supported by a £10m investment at the group’s main site in Blackford, Perthshire which will provide circa 25 per cent of extra capacity.
The group’s dedicated rail freight facility in Blackford, Perthshire transports 40 per cent of the water supplied from the main bottling plant by rail, removing 8,000 HGV movements from the roads, and saving over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. This landmark project supports the businesses decarbonisation roadmap which aims to reduce emissions across their entire operations from source to shelf.
“Highland Spring Group was the first major water brand to introduce a 100% recycled (cap and label excluded) and recyclable bottle in the UK in 2019 and it is clear that its drive to innovate, grow the business, and prioritise environmental sustainability remain its top priorities,” Simon Sweeney, director at Bank of Scotland, said.
“We’re pleased to support the business with this financing package as it progresses in its next chapter of delivering its ambitious growth plans, including initiatives which reduce carbon emissions across its operations.”
Jamie Grant, head of Barclays corporate banking in Scotland, said: “We are committed to supporting lending via our £22bn Barclays Business Prosperity Fund and so are very pleased to have been chosen as a banking partner for Highland Spring. We look forward to supporting their exciting plans going forward.”
A persistent shoplifter targeting stores in Northumbria is now behind bars after stealing from a South Tyneside store just weeks after being handed a suspended sentence for the same offences.
As informed by Northumbria Police on Thursday (13), Michael Wright, 35, visited the Co-op store on Mortimer Road in South Shields last Thursday (6) and took laundry products without paying.
Less than a month earlier, Wright was given a 14-week suspended sentence by South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court for stealing chicken from the same Co-op store, and toiletries from the Sainsbury’s on Prince Edward Road.
After being quickly identified as responsible, Wright, of Lumley Avenue, South Shields, was arrested on Sunday (9) in connection with his latest spree of offending. The South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Monday (10) was sentenced him to 22 weeks imprisonment.
Following his court appearance, Constable Thubron, of South Shields Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), said, “Wright is a repeat thief who has flagrantly disregarded his previous suspended sentence he was given only weeks prior.
“Wright has a vast history of this type of offending – and his brazen attitude towards the orders imposed on him by a court shows his lack of regard for anyone his criminality affects.
“Crime sprees such as these do nothing except leave businesses out of pocket, and I’m pleased he’s now behind bars to prevent him causing more disorder in the local community.
“As a Force, we will continue to tackle this type of criminality.”
Rapid rise in retail crime continues to impact stores across the country with multiple industry as well as government reports showing the similar record levels of theft, abuse and violence against shop workers.
Meanwhile in Essex, two prolific shoplifters who stole almost £20,000 worth of goods have been sentenced after being caught with stolen items in their car.
Thomas McDonagh, 21, of Warren Crescent, Headington, Oxford, was jailed for 16 months after admitting to eight counts of theft across Essex in December 2024 and January 2025. His accomplice, Martin Stokes, 23, of Aylesbury Street, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, received a 16-week jail term, suspended for 18 months, and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
The duo were stopped by police on 19 January while driving on the A12. Officers had linked them to multiple thefts from Boots and Next in the Stane Park retail area in Stanway, Colchester.
Upon stopping their Ford Focus, police found the boot packed with stolen goods, swiftly connecting them to 11 separate shoplifting incidents across the county, including in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford.
Snacking giant pladis has announced David Murray, currently leader of its UK and Ireland enterprise, will transition to the newly created position of global chief commercial officer.
After five years at the helm of pladis UK&I, Murray’s new role will see him take ownership of the company’s global platform and brand strategy along with its commercial transformation.
Mete Buyurgan will become the new managing director of pladis across Britain and Ireland effective 6 April.
Buyurgan, a pladis veteran of eight years, joins the Anglo-Irish division of the company from its Turkish, Eastern Europe and Central Asian operations which he ran since 2016.
Under his stewardship, pladis Türkiye, Eastern Europe and Central Asia grew revenue and profit despite significant headwinds and positioned itself at the forefront of the sustainability debate.
“While our brands like McVitie’s and Ülker have been part of peoples’ lives for decades, pladis is still a young business having started life nine years ago,” Geraldine Fraser, chief human resources officer, said.
“We have made tremendous progress together on our mission to build one of the world’s fastest growing snacks companies. Today, we take another step on that journey to evolve our business and position us for continued growth in an ever-changing retail and consumer landscape.”
Founded in 2016, pladis’ 16,000-strong team makes food across 27 bakeries and factories in 11 countries with its brands, like McVitie’s, Ülker and Flipz sold in more than 110 nations. pladis group revenue topped £2.7 billion in its most recent financial year ending 2023.
More than £20,000 worth of illicit tobacco and vapes were seized from multiple premises in an one-day operation in Meir by Trading Standards team along with officers from Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Police.
The operation is the latest across the city that resulted in 13 shops being closed in the last 12 months, and forms part of Operation Cece, which is a National Trading Standards initiative in Partnership with HMRC to tackle illegal tobacco.
Under the latest one day action, officers raided three shops in the area after reports of underage sales of illegal vapes and tobacco to children as young as 12.
The significant operation seized 1,084 packets of cigarettes, over 1,500 vapes and 165 large pouches of rolling tobacco.
The retail value was estimated at more than £20,000, plus more than £12,000 in evaded duty. Officers also seized 12 key rings that were either unsafe or had trademark issues.
Several people with no right to work in the UK, and other immigration issues, were found and their cases passed to the Home Office.
Councillor Amjid Wazir OBE, Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability - said, “We will not tolerate the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes, which put residents at risk and cheat the taxpayer out of public money.
“Our Trading Standards teams are working round the clock to get illegal tobacco and vapes off the streets, and out of the hands of children. All forming part of corporate strategy and specifically helping to reclaim our streets.
Inspector Rebecca Price, from the Stoke South local policing team, said, “We’re working closely with the city council and wider partners in Stoke-on-Trent to tackle issues affecting local communities as part of our ongoing Making Great Places initiative.
“Retailers not complying with the law and putting local people at risk of harm are being targeted robustly on a proactive basis as part of this commitment, and I can assure local communities that similar enforcement alongside our colleagues will continue.”
The premises are now under investigation, and are facing possible criminal prosecutions including under the Licensing Act.
The Trading Standards work forms part of the city council mission to be a cleaner, greener and safer city for all who live, work and visit Stoke-on-Trent.