Hampshire County Council has seized illegal vapes, cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco with a total estimated value of almost £9,000.
Trading Standards officers, working alongside Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, carried out inspections at two retail premises in New Milton as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco and vape products.
During the operation, officers recovered unregulated goods, including illegal vapes, cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
At one store, 108 packets of cigarettes (2,160 cigarette sticks), 14 pouches (50g) of hand-rolled tobacco and 115 vapes were seized.
At a second store, 57 packets of cigarettes (1,140 cigarette sticks), 15 pouches (50g) of hand-rolled tobacco and two vapes were seized.
An associated vehicle, suspected of being linked to one of the shops, was also searched and found to contain 824 packets of cigarettes (16,480 cigarette sticks) and 216 pouches (50g) of hand-rolled tobacco. These items were also seized.
The total high street value of the seized items, had they been sold, would have been £8,989.
The total high street value of the equivalent compliant cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco would have been £17,802.
Speaking after the operation, PC Antony Waghorn, of MSOIC, said: “This operation once again demonstrated our continued commitment to protecting our communities from illegal and harmful activity.
“Working alongside colleagues from Trading Standards, Immigration Enforcement and the local Neighbourhood Policing Team, we’ve seized a significant quantity of illicit cigarettes, tobacco and vapes and spoken with workers to ensure their safety and welfare.
“This kind of criminality exploits people, harms local residents, and undermines legitimate businesses.
“We will continue to work together to identify those higher up the chain who profit from these offences and ensure they are held to account.
“And finally, I’d like to place on record my thanks to those members of the community, including local shoppers and workers, who came over and thanked us for our work yesterday.”
Hampshire County Council’s Head of Trading Standards, Richard Strawson, said: “Our focus on cracking down on illegal vapes and tobacco products is paying off, with this latest operation preventing potentially dangerous products from reaching consumers. We were pleased to work with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and partners, and this operation will act as a deterrent to other disreputable traders.
"We continue to urge residents to stay alert and report anything of concern, including underage sales.”
Last year, council’s Trading Standards team seized more than 116,000 illegal vapes and tobacco products worth an estimated £138,000.