Illegal tobacco, vapes and toys seized during joint trading standards visits

Officers from the Cheshire Constabulary’s PVPE team were joined by colleagues from Trading Standards in an operation targeting illegal substances and immigration crime at retailers across Cheshire East.

On Tuesday 14 October, officers from the Protecting Vulnerable People Exploitation team, supported by colleagues from the FNO team and local trading standards were deployed across Cheshire East, operating under Operation Machinize.

Launched by the National Crime Agency, Op Machinize is an ongoing coordinated operation that aims to tackling money laundering, the criminal use of cash-intensives in high street businesses and immigration crime.

Over the course of the day, the teams visited six commercial premises across Sandbach, Congleton, Alsager and Macclesfield and seized quantities of illegal products, including vapes, tobacco and counterfeit toys.

Additionally, these illicit products had been hidden in concealments out of sight within the shops. However, thanks to the assistance of a specialist detection dog Mostyn, the products were quickly identified and seized by officers.

The street value of the products seized is estimated to be around £25,000.

A 32-year-old man from Macclesfield was also arrested on suspicion of modern-day slavery offences. He remains in custody at this time assisting officers with their enquiries.

Detective Inspector Martin Caldwell, of force’s Protective Vulnerable People Exploitation team, said:

“We and our community partners work very hard to tackle those attempting to sell illicit products in Cheshire and, while many businesses across Cheshire East are operating within the law, we have seen that there are a those few who think they can get away with it – as we have seen today.

“There really is nowhere to hide when it comes to distributing products that are illegal for a reason and today’s results are the product to the excellent work of our officers partners who are committed to bringing organised criminals, as well as those who exploit the most vulnerable people in our society, to justice.

“With that in mind, we cannot take action like this without your support. Information submitted to us from members of the public is vital to our investigations, so I would encourage anyone with any information or concerns about illegal activity in their area to get in touch.”