Illegal vapes and tobacco worth £50k seized

Two shops have closed after police found illegal tobacco and vapes worth £50,000 on their premises.

The Taunton Market and Top Market shops, both on Station Road in Taunton, have been visited by Trading Standards officers, police, and tobacco detection dogs, who found illegal products.

Taunton Magistrates Court granted three-month closure orders on both premises.

Alex Fry, operations manager at Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service, said: "Combatting the supply of illegal tobacco and vapes is a high priority for us. By taking these products off the streets, we're able to help protect our communities as well as supporting those businesses on the high street that trade legally."

In July, 12,000 cigarettes, 2.5kg of tobacco and almost 1,000 vapes were discovered in a rear room at Top Market, behind a concealed door in the wall display panelling.

A revisit just two months later revealed further illegal products in the same room.

The seized products had a street value of over £20,000.

At Taunton Market in July, over 35,000 cigarettes, 6.5kg of tobacco and 540 vapes were seized from an associated flat.

While in September, a vehicle linked with the premises was intercepted delivering tobacco products to the shop, and 10,260 cigarettes, 2.5kg of tobacco and 84 vapes were seized.

In total, seizures associated with Taunton Market were estimated to have a street value of almost £30,000.

In both cases, Taunton Magistrates said that the closure of the retail premises was necessary to prevent further criminal activity from taking place.

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