Illegal goods with a retail value of approximately £365,000 were seized in an operation carried out by Walsall Trading Standards and West Midlands Police on 2 July 2025.
Officers, supported by a specialist search dog team, investigated four retail premises, one associated vehicle, and a storage unit. The operation uncovered approximately 100 kilograms of illegal hand-rolling tobacco, 287,000 illicit cigarettes, and 350 illegal disposable vapes.
Sniffer dogs Griff, Cooper, and Bran—highly trained in detecting tobacco and vapes—assisted the team. At a self-storage yard, Griff identified a unit containing the illegal cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Inside, some counterfeit cigarettes were even concealed inside boxes labelled as barbecues.
“ This is another successful operation for the team, and it sends a clear message to criminals in our borough. I want to thank our Trading Standards team, West Midlands Police, and of course the stars of the operation, Cooper, Griff, and Bran who helped to sniff out these illegal goods and get them off our streets.
This isn’t a harmless activity. Illegal goods like this not only pose risks to people’s health, but can be linked to organised criminal activity too, where vulnerable people may be exploited. We need to crack down on the people that think this activity is ok and will come without consequence.
Our enforcement teams have my full support in taking a zero-tolerance approach to this illegal activity, so we can protect our communities across Walsall. “
Councillor Adam Hicken, Portfolio Holder for Enforcement and Safe Communities
Walsall Council
Under new legislation, disposable vapes are now banned in the United Kingdom under the Environmental Protection Act. Many of the disposable vapes seized in this operation contained 15000 puffs which is twenty-five times the previous legal limit of around 600 puffs.