Dog helps police track down illegal vapes in Cambridgeshire
Thousands of illegal vapes, cigarettes and tobacco were seized as part of a multi-agency operation.Police officers, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trading Standards and HMRC were assisted by Wagtail dogs, who were trained to detect tobacco, in the crackdown.During inspections in Ely, Soham and Littleport on Tuesday, 3,171 illegal vapes and 32,000 cigarettes were seized. Some of the vapes had oversized tanks and incorrect labelling, and others had not been notified to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. There were also tobacco products without the correct warnings and labelling in English.
Over the last two years, Trading Standards has seized about 13,000 illegal vapes and more than 100,000 illegal cigarettes across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.Sgt Mat Lupton-Pike, from the East Cambs Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "Illicit cigarettes, vapes and tobacco pose a serious risk to health as well as fuelling funding for other related criminal activity."We ask the public to continue to report any information or concerns to us."The more information we have, the more efficient we can be at targeting those causing harm to our communities."Peter Gell, service director, regulatory services for Cambridgeshire County Council said: "These ongoing, targeted enforcement operations send a clear message to the organised crime gangs that the sale of illegal tobacco and nicotine products will not be tolerated in Cambridgeshire, and that Trading Standards, the police and HMRC are committed to taking a hard line with anyone we uncover perpetrating these crimes."
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