Trading Standards officers have seized 225 packs of illegal cigarettes, 30 packs of counterfeit hand rolling tobacco, and 29 illegal vapes from two shops in Aberdeen – one of which stashed their illegal goods in two secret cupboards in the stockroom.
The seizures were part of in the intelligence-led Operation CECE which is a UK-wide operation between Trading Standards and HMRC which was set-up in 2021 to tackle the sale of illegal tobacco products at retail level.
The Trading Standards officers were aided by Police Scotland and were also supported by two specially-trained dogs - Boo, a four-year-old lab cross wire haired pointer, and Rosie, a two-year-old springer spaniel.
Graeme Paton, Aberdeen City Council Trading Standards manager, said: “People might think they are getting a bargain buying tobacco from under the counter in a shop or via social media, and that it does no harm. But they probably don’t realise the connections between illegal tobacco and organised crime and the proceeds are used to fund other illegal activities such as people smuggling and drug dealing.
“Retailers involved in the trade in illegal tobacco are very sneaky at hiding their stocks however they should be aware we are aware of their tricks - Boo and Rosie are specially trained to find tobacco products and their assistance is invaluable to enable us to find tobacco products that would not be visible during an inspection.
“We’d ask people not to buy illegal tobacco and report sales of it to us in confidence so we can make a real difference to help keep more illegal tobacco off the streets - we need to keep the pressure up on those who continue to sell it.”
Of the seizures, the cigarettes were a mixture of non-duty paid, counterfeit, and illicit/cheap whites. The illicit/cheap whites and counterfeit product are not ‘reduced ignition propensity cigarettes’ which means they don’t have the special bands which restrict oxygen access to the burning end of the cigarette, causing the cigarette to go out if not ‘puffed’ by the smoker. This reduces the risk of fires from cigarettes left burning and unattended.
The most common examples of what is defined as illegal tobacco are:
- Counterfeits of well-known brands. You might thing you’re getting the genuine article but what you get is an inferior fake;
- Cheap genuine tobacco smuggled into the UK with no-duty paid. These packages are often in foreign languages and do not have the health safety warnings that are required in the UK;
- ‘Cheap whites’ which are mass produced in one country and smuggled into another.
All cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco sold in the UK should be in standardised packaging and come with both written and pictorial health warnings. All text should be in English.
In addition to reporting criminal offences to the Procurator Fiscal for prosecution, Trading Standards may refer their findings to HMRC through new provisions in the Tobacco Products (Traceability and Security Features) Regulations 2019. Packets of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco must have of unique identifiers marked on them, as required by the 2019 Regulations. Where a tobacco product is found not to comply, Trading Standards can refer this evidence to HMRC to consider applying a civil penalty called a sanction. For a first breach, the maximum sanction is £10,000.
People can report illegal tobacco and cigarettes to Trading Standards via tradingstandards@aberdeencity.gov.uk or anonymously on 01224 522433.