North Somerset Council has seized £32,000 worth of illegal tobacco from premises in Weston-super-Mare.
The raid followed an investigation by the council’s trading standards team, who were assisted by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The raids were part of Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards project to tackle the supply and sale of illegal tobacco.
Two arrests were made and what the council described as a ‘significant amount’ of cash was seized.
Cllr James Clayton, North Somerset Council’s executive member for safety in the community, said: ‘I’d like to thank the officers and teams involved with this latest enforcement action and ongoing investigation.
‘Here in North Somerset, there is zero tolerance for flouting the law in relation to tobacco products and the links this often has to wider criminality. There’s no place for this on our communities.
‘I’d urge anyone who has concerns about the sale of illegal tobacco products and vapes to report it to Trading Standards South West via their website.’
