Tameside Trading Standards seize nearly £500k in illegal goods

NEARLY £500k worth of counterfeit goods and illicit vapes and tobacco products were seized during trading standards swoops on three Ashton premises.

Tameside Council enforcement officers, working with Greater Manchester Police and Wagtails sniffer dogs, discovered the stashes during the wider Operation Avro crime and anti-social behaviour day of action on 19 September.

They visited the premises after receiving intelligence and information regarding suspicious activity. Investigations are continuing.

The seized goods, which are worth approximately £460,000, include counterfeit clothing, sportswear, trainers and fragrances and illicit vapes, cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.

The UK market in fake goods is now worth £9.3 billion and represents 4% of all UK imports. This costs the UK economy estimated losses of £1.3 billion in unpaid tax, which could be used for essential public services. Instead the money falls into criminal hands and is used to finance organised crime including human trafficking, drugs, weapons and child labour. Additionally, in many cases fake goods are often proven to be potentially dangerous to consumers.

HM Revenues and Customs estimates that the illicit market in tobacco duty and related VAT was £2.8 billion in 2021 to 2022. The proceeds of this crime fund the smuggling of weapons, drugs, and even humans across the globe.

Illegal vapes are not compliant with UK regulations and could have higher nicotine concentration levels, contain banned ingredients or have oversized tanks for nicotine liquid. They often do not have the right warnings or information on their packaging.

Tameside Council Assistant Executive Member for Enforcement Cllr Hugh Roderick said: “This is a great result thanks to collaborative efforts of our trading standards team working with our partners. Appropriate action will be taken against the offenders involved. The trade in counterfeit and illicit goods supports crime rings, hurts hard working legitimate businesses and puts consumers at risk.

“We’ll continue to work closely with our partners to address issues of concern to our communities and to make Tameside safer for everyone.”