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Trading Standards officers supported by West Mercia Police officers, served closure notices for Redditch Mini Market in Market Street and Romanian Magazim, Alcester Street, on Monday.

Following court hearings yesterday (11 December) both shops received a closure order and must now cease trading for three months. 

Officers from ������ϲ�����ͼ�� Trading Standards and Redditch District Councils used test purchasing and specially trained tobacco dogs to prove that the shops were selling illicit tobacco and vape products. Since the start of the operation more than £100,000 of illegal tobacco products and nearly £6,000 of illegal vapes have been seized.

Councillor Karen May, ������ϲ�����ͼ�� County Council’s cabinet member for Communities said: “Trading Standards officers and West Mercia Police have previously found a small number of shops across Bromsgrove and Redditch where multiple seizures of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes products had taken place.

“We needed to take these steps and ensure they are stopped from selling these products in the future and protect residents from harmful products.”

Councillor Monica Stringfellow, portfolio holder for Community Services and Regulatory Services for Redditch Borough Council added, “Theses premises have put our residents’ health at risk and increased the risk of young people accessing age-restricted products. We will not tolerate this.”

This initiative has been funded by ������ϲ�����ͼ�� County Council, Redditch and Bromsgrove District Councils and Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion.

Police and Crime Commissioner, John Campion said: “As PCC, I am committed to making communities a safer place for all, as set out in my West Mercia Safer Communities plan. This latest success in the fight against harmful illegal tobacco and vapes is a great example of what we can achieve together.

“It’s important that rogue retailers who sell illegal tobacco products, including to those that are underage, are unable to profit from illegal activity.

“By supporting the councils, through the Safer ������ϲ�����ͼ�� partnership, Trading Standards and district legal colleagues will have the resources they need to pursue these lawbreakers through this form of legal process.”

Police Sergeant Dave Roberts of Redditch Town Centre Team said: “Working with our partners we are pleased to get these closure orders at premises in the town centre who have persistently stocked and sold illegal cigarettes and vapes on the black market.

“The profits from such criminal enterprises are linked to organised crime groups so taking them off the streets has not only protected the public from unregulated products but also disrupted a wider network of criminal activity that can include the exploitation of vulnerable people.

“Furthermore, nearby retailers selling legitimate tobacco products and vapes have reported to Trading Standards their sales of these items and associated ad hoc sales of other goods are down as much as £500 to £3,000 a week in the past two years.”

The shops had been flagged as a source of illegal tobacco products since the first seizures occurred in March 2022.

Trading Standards Officers at ������ϲ�����ͼ�� County Council lack closure powers, but through collaboration with Borough Council officers, and with the support of Redditch Town Centre Policing Team, and West Mercia Economic Crime Unit, they successfully entered premises on Monday to search for counterfeit tobacco and illegal vapes.

If you are concerned about a shop or the products it is selling, more information is available from the ������ϲ�����ͼ�� Trading Standards website.