Thousands of illegal cigarettes, bottles of alcohol seized from Cardiff shops

Thousands of illegal cigarettes and bottles of alcohol have been seized from Cardiff shops in just one day, reports stated on Friday (21).

The operation involving series of raids saw HMRC, police, and Trading Standards officers visiting 46 premises across the city on Wednesday (19). They found illicit items including 1.25kg of hand-rolling tobacco, 1,670 cigarettes, 947.5 litres of beer, and 25.12 litres of spirits as well as a “large quantity” of vapes. Investigations are ongoing.

A HMRC spokesman said: “The use and sale of illicit alcohol and tobacco will not be tolerated by us or our partner agencies. Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit market. We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to report it online.”

A recent BBC investigation revealed that illegal tobacco can contain eight times as much lead as legal brands and “abnormally high levels of cancer-causing chemicals”. In 2021 more than three million illicit cigarettes were confiscated across Wales.

The Welsh Government says there is evidence of the market “feeding” other areas of crime including gangs, drugs, and human trafficking. A report from HMRC estimates that the trade costs the UK taxpayer more than £2bn in lost revenues each year.

Meanwhile, one of the shop owners whose premises were visited during the raids has alleged that she is being framed wrongly.

Tina Chen, owner of C&A Chinese supermarket in Cowbridge Road East in Canton told WalesOnline how the officers had no concerns after checks on the shop’s alcohol and documentation but raised objection on a single packet of Chinese cigarettes which were for her personal use and not for sale. She said she was surprised they seized the packet.

“I wasn’t selling the cigarettes here but [one of the officers] didn’t like it,” said Chen. “I told him it was for myself but he didn’t seem to get it. I have never sold cigarettes here.”

She said the Chinese brand of cigarettes were a gift from a friend, adding that she is in the UK 18 years but have always used Chinese cigarettes for personal use.