£80,000 worth of illegal vapes and cigarettes seized in Gateshead, including 40kg of tobacco

Police officers have uncovered illegal cigarettes, vapes and tobacco worth £80,000 at a Gateshead shop – taking the total number of seizures recovered in the past 18 months over the £1 million mark.

On Thursday, December 14, officers from Northumbria Police, working alongside Trading Standards officials at Gateshead and Newcastle City Council, conducted a search at a shop in the Bensham area of Gateshead as part of Operation Vienna.

Once inside the store, officers discovered a small storage area in the rear yard which behind a false wall.

The room contained a total of 80,340 illegal cigarettes, 40kg of hand rolling tobacco and 232 illegal vapes.

The total value of the products are £80,000 and believed to have a street value of £40,000.

Officers believed that the illicit items were being passed through a window in the toilet area of the premises to be placed in the hidden storage area.

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This activity is the latest in a string of clampdowns carried out by the Vienna team, which was established a number of years ago and brings police and partners in the local authority closer together to tackle crime and disorder, and act on intelligence in real time.

It now means that more than £1million in illicit goods has been uncovered by the operation in Gateshead and Newcastle over the past 18 months.

Praising the results, Inspector Gillian Fenney-Menzies from Northumbria Police said: “This is another fantastic result for Operation Vienna and our continued thanks go to the community who provide information that helps up act immediately in uncovering this type of activity.

“We have been able to seize a sizeable haul of illegal products and we will carry on working with our partners to respond to concerns from the public and take these harmful items out of circulation.

“It also means that Operation Vienna has seized £1million-worth of illicit tobacco products in the past 18 months, which is a huge figure and testament to the work of our officers and those in Trading Standards departments at our local authority partners.”

Insp Fenney-Menzies added: “People might not see the harm that these illicit products can cause, but we know that their proceeds are often reinvested into serious organised crime, which can fund more serious activity such as drug supply and even trafficking.

“Residents should be assured that this is simply not something we will tolerate in our communities.

“If you do have any information about the supply and sale of suspected illegal tobacco, vapes and cigarettes in your area, please let us know so that we can take action.”

Councillor Angela Douglas, Chair of the Gateshead Community Safety Board, said: “Removing this quantity of illegal products from the streets is a great outcome for Gateshead and another example of the council and police working together to keep our communities safe.

“Not only is illegal tobacco often linked to serious organised crime, it also makes smoking more accessible to children and creates addictions to a product that kills 2 in 3 long-term users. We’ll continue to take this issue extremely seriously and work with our partners to stamp out illegal sales.”

Cllr Irim Ali, Cabinet member for a Dynamic City at Newcastle City Council, said: “This is an excellent result and is testament to the important work Newcastle Trading Standards and partners do to prevent illicit tobacco and vapes getting onto our streets.

“We know the sale of these counterfeit products undermines legitimate businesses and can do untold damage to people’s health, including those who are underage.

“I am delighted Operation Vienna continues to see great results. We will continue working with partners to take harmful, illegal items out of circulation and keep our communities safe.”