ILLEGAL tobacco, cigarettes and vapes were seized – and one person arrested – in raids in North Somerset.

Officers from North Somerset Council’s (NSC) Trading Standards team took part in a large-scale operation in Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare n March 11 and 12.

The operation, co-ordinated by Trading Standards South West (TSSW), took place on March 11 and 12.

Members of the North Somerset Licensing Team, Police Licensing Officers, the Home Office Immigration Service and the South-West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) were also involved, alongside search dogs specially trained to detect concealed tobacco.

As a result, 153 packets of illegal cigarettes and 1kg of illegal hand-rolling tobacco were seized by Trading Standards officers, as well as 355 illegal vapes.

One person was arrested by the Immigration Service because they do not have the right to be in or work in the UK.

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Trading Standards officials said cheap, illegal tobacco and vapes are accessible to young people, while the money made from their sale is used by organised criminal gangs to finance other illegal activities.

Cllr James Clayton, executive member for safety in the community at NSC, said: “I’d like to thank all organisations who took part in this successful multi-agency operation. We continue to tackle illegal tobacco and the criminals who operate in our communities.

“If anyone has any concerns about the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products, including underage sales, then please report them to Trading Standards South West www.tssw.org.uk/report-it.

“You may have the missing piece of information that we need to disrupt serious and organised crime.”

Matt Lenny, NSC director of public health, said: “Smoking is the leading cause of premature, preventable death nationally and in the South West, killing approximately 250 people in our region each year.

“The best thing a smoker can do for their health is to quit.

“Cheap, illegal tobacco undermines smokers’ attempts to quit their addiction to tobacco. It is also more easily available to children and young people often leading to a lifetime addiction.”

And Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, added: “The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.

“Having removed 60,473,235 cigarettes and 16,416kg of hand rolling tobacco between January 1 2001 and September 30 2024in England and Wales, Operation CeCe (a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC) has taken £35.3 million pounds-worth of illicit tobacco off the market since the operation launched in 2021 and continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”

Sales of illegal tobacco and/or vapes can be reported anonymously to the Trading Standards South West team at www.tssw.org.uk/report-it, or by calling the Citizens Advice consumer advice line on 0808 223 1133.

Better Health North Somerset (www.betterhealthns.co.uk/stop-smoking/) offers a range of free quitting support. Advisors offer a non-judgmental support for those who want to stop smoking.