Illegal vapes worth £75,000 seized from South Kirkby shop

Over 5,000 illegal vapes have been seized from a shop in South Kirkby during test purchase operation, West Yorkshire Police said.

Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team worked with Wakefield Licensing Team in carrying out the operation at a number of retailers in South Elmsall and South Kirkby on 13 January in response to the community concerns about the illegal sale of vapes to children.

At one store in South Kirkby, 5,159 illegal vapes were seized, estimated to be worth around £75,000. Nitrous oxide and counterfeit cigarettes were also seized by officers.

Two other shops, both in South Elmsall, failed the test purchase operation by selling alcohol to underage people and will be subject to license reviews. 

“This activity demonstrates the commitment of our neighbourhood teams to work with local residents, acting on the information they provide to help make our communities safer,” inspector Glen Costello, of the Wakefield East Neighbourhood Policing Team, said.

“If anyone has any information about crime or anti-social behaviour in their area then I would urge them to report it to us so that it can be actioned by ourselves and our partner agencies.”