LoginOrganised Criminals Hit With TS Seizures
Northumberland TS has disrupted a suspected organised crime network by seizing a large amount of illicit tobacco.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 21 August 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Crime|North East
Northumberland Trading Standards has seized a ‘substantial quantity’ of illicit cigarettes and tobacco during a multi-agency operation with Northumbria Police, dealing a blow to a suspected organised crime network.
Officers executed a search warrant at two residential addresses in South East Northumberland after gathering intelligence that the premises were being used to store illicit goods on behalf of a local business.
At one of the addresses, a search uncovered 18,540 illicit cigarettes; at the other Officers found a further 15,400 illicit cigarettes along with 160 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco.
Northumberland Trading Standards says it is carrying out further investigations into the suppliers of the illicit goods.
A seizure of this size will make a huge impact on the organised crime gangs who were set to profit from this
Northumberland County Council Cabinet Member for Public Safety, Gordon Stewart, commented: “A seizure of this size will make a huge impact on the organised crime gangs who were set to profit from this, and will significantly disrupt this illegal supply chain across our region.
“With the help of the public within our neighbourhoods and the efforts of our Trading Standards team, our aim is to stop the supply of illicit tobacco across all communities in Northumberland and ensure that those responsible are brought to account.
“It is really important that people come forward with any information they have about the supply of illicit tobacco in Northumberland. Any information will be treated in strict confidence and can also be supplied to us anonymously through ‘Keep It Out’ reporting channels.”
The Keep It Out campaign is a regional tobacco control programme hosted by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and backed by Northumberland County Council. Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, the groups running the campaign, said: “Two out of three people who smoke will die early because of tobacco, whether they smoke legal or illegal tobacco. Illegal tobacco dealers are linked to criminality and are fuelling ill health in our local communities, helping children to get hooked.
“Tackling illegal tobacco is vital as part of efforts to make smoking history for future generations and help reduce the misery of smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This is more excellent work from Northumberland County Council’s Trading Standards to take it off the streets.”
Trading Standards teams across the country are increasingly concerned about the impact of organised criminal groups on the UK’s high streets. The issue was cited as a major challenge in the most recent CTSI Member Survey, and there have been several prosecutions and initiatives to disrupt criminal activity – despite the ongoing resourcing and funding challenges the Trading Standards service faces.
PLEASE NOTE: This content originally appeared on our standalone Journal of Trading Standards website (www.journaloftradingstandards.co.uk), which we are gradually migrating over to the Journal's new home on the CTSI website. Please bear with us while we complete this process. This will not affect the production of our Print Edition.
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Content Tags: Updates|Crime|North East
