Joint work between Operation Fearless and partners has seen hundreds of thousands of illicit and counterfeit cigarettes, thousands of illegal vapes, and counterfeit hand rolling tobacco seized following raids on two shops in Erdington on Monday (June 9).
Following intelligence from the local community, officers teamed up with Birmingham City Council’s Operation Cloud Trading Standards team as well as immigration officials and West Midlands Fire Service.
On the High Street - vapes, cigarettes, and tobacco products worth an estimated £500,000 were seized from a shop and two vehicles linked to it – while similar goods worth an estimated £250,000 were seized from a shop and vehicle on York Road.
The items seized are now being analysed by Trading Standards colleagues, and the vehicles involved have been also seized.
A number of people were spoken to following the recoveries at both shops, and our investigation is continuing.
During this morning’s activity, Operation Fearless officers also chased and caught a suspected shop thief, who has now been arrested and charged.
Det Insp Tom Lyons, from Operation Fearless, said: “Operation Fearless made a commitment that we would work partners to disrupt the supply of illegal goods in Erdington, and today we’ve been doing exactly that.
“The items seized today can be dangerous, and the profits made by those involved in their supply can bring further harm to communities.
“Intelligence from the community is really valuable, and we would urge anyone with information about goods like these to get in touch with us.”
Operation Fearless recently expanded to the Southside area of Birmingham, but its officers are still working in Erdington alongside the dedicated High Street policing team, it as safe as possible for those living and working there.
Mohammed Tariq, Birmingham City Council’s Lead Trading Standards Officer for Operation Cloud, said, “We’ve seen some really positive results in Erdington through our partnership work with Operation Fearless, and we’re continuing to act on information provided to us.
“We’re determined to continue working with our partners to protect the community from illicit trade, which we know can often be linked to organised crime.”
