Login£386,000 of Illicit Goods Seized
Manchester Trading Standards and Greater Manchester Police removed illicit vapes, tobacco and counterfeits from sale.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 26 August 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Crime|North West
Manchester City Council Trading Standards, working alongside Greater Manchester Police (GMP), has seized more than £386,000 worth of illicit vapes, cigarettes and counterfeit goods from premises across the city as part of a partnership operation intended to safeguard the local community from illegal and dangerous products.
With support from specially trained tobacco detection dogs, Officers visited businesses in the Stockport Road and Hyde Road areas of the city. The raids – which formed part of GMP and Manchester City Trading Standards’ ‘Safe4Summer’ initiative – were preceded by test purchase operations and intelligence gathering from the public.
Among the intelligence received were reports of age-restricted goods such as cigarettes and alcohol being sold to children, and there are suspected links between some of the businesses selling illegal products and wider forms of criminality.
Some of the illicit goods were found in concealments inside shops, while in others they were openly displayed on shelves.
Councillor Garry Bridges, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, commented: “We have an incredibly productive partnership with GMP as we continue to ensure that illegal goods are kept off our streets. In recent years the prevalence of illegal tobacco and non-compliant vapes has been high on our watch list. They post a risk to the public, make it harder for people to give up smoking and funnel money into the pockets of criminals.
“I’d like to thank our Trading Standards Officers for their continued diligence in working to clamp down on illegal behaviour and express my gratitude towards our colleagues in GMP for their support in keeping our neighbourhoods crime-free.”
PC Francesca Hooley, City of Manchester Central District Intelligence Unit said: “Working in partnership with Trading Standards, we have visited over 50 shops during the past two days of action.
“We know this will have a real impact on illegal operations uncovered in the area and sends a clear message that we will not tolerate this. ”We are determined that those profiting from the unlawful sales of tobacco and related products will be dealt with accordingly. ”I would encourage the public to pass on any information relating to sales to CrimeStoppers which can be done anonymously by called 0800 555 111.”
Detective Inspector Chris Woodburn, City of Manchester Central District Intelligence Unit said: “The team have worked tirelessly alongside Trading Standards along with assistance from the Anti Social Behaviour Action Team which has seen fantastic seizures.
“Illegal vapes and cigarettes fund wider crime, harm public health and undermine legitimate retailers. They do not belong on our streets, and in the hands of our community. We will continue to take robust action to tackle this organised criminal trade that harms our communities to make sure they feel safe where they live.”
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.
Share this Article: X|LinkedIn|Facebook
Content Tags: Updates|Crime|North West
