Illicit cigarettes and tobacco worth nearly £400,000 have been taken off sale in Staffordshire this year, the county council said.
According to figures released by Staffordshire County Council on Monday, Tranding Standards officers removed or brought into compliance over 10,000 unsafe and non-compliant products, with a total value of £262,897, while also stripping an estimated £399,656 in illicit tobacco profits out of the black market.
Enforcement activity during 2025 led to the seizure of 16,455 illegal disposable vapes, alongside 312,310 illicit cigarettes, 85.61kg of illegal hand-rolling tobacco and 115 illicit cigars.
Trading Standards also targeted the wider counterfeit goods market, seizing 840 fake and potentially dangerous Labubu children’s toys during a raid at Penkridge Market in August.
Anthony Screen, cabinet member for community safety and resilience at Staffordshire County Council, said the results demonstrated the role Trading Standards plays in supporting safe and fair trading.
“Teams continue to tackle the sale of illegal, illicit or fake goods, taking action against those businesses and rogue traders caught selling them. Every item seized and removed from the market and every shop closed down is a result,” he said.
“Buying such items may seem harmless enough but it’s never a good idea. It’s usually organised crime gangs who benefit, with profits fuelling gang activity. You can also end up with dangerous or poor-quality products and ultimately out of pocket.”
Alongside enforcement, the service supported 139 vulnerable people to help them avoid scams or rogue traders, and carried out checks across the county, including 114 food premises and 59 animal feed premises. The council said 87 per cent of businesses visited were either compliant at the time of inspection or were brought into compliance.
Trading Standards has encouraged retailers and the public to report concerns about the sale of illegal goods, as officers continue to focus on disrupting illicit supply chains and protecting legitimate convenience businesses.