Five Grantham shops raided by police and Trading Standards

Five shops in Grantham have been targeted by officers and Trading Standards following intelligence that illegal and illicit goods were being sold.

The raids were carried out simultaneously yesterday morning (11 March) across Europe Foods, and Biedronka, both in Wharf Road, Grab and Go in London Road, and Jazz Mini Market in Westgate.

In Biedronka a large quality of illegal vapes and cigarettes were found, while a large quantity of illegal vapes were found in Europe Foods, and in both case, some of the goods were found in hidden in the storage room behind false panels constructed into the shelving units. Some of these were sophisticated and used magnetic mechanical components. 

Officers searching Grab and Go found a large quantity of illegal vapes and cigarettes, and the same was found in Jazz Mini Market, with the latter also having hiding places for the goods.

The hiding places mean that the goods aren’t always on show and to make them less likely to be discovered by authorities, but help from a sniffer dog from Wagtails uncovered the goods. The teams also found a handheld taser and a suspected incapacitant spray in in the store room and behind the counter at Biedronka.

Another store in Wharf Road was also visited, and no illicit goods were found.

Some of the disposable vapes were offering 9,000 to 15,000 puffs per vape. As a rule, disposable vapes should have around 600 puffs in them, so they comply with the legal limits on size.

All of these could have been sold to the local community. Illicit e-cigarettes and cigarettes are not compliant with UK legal regulations on labelling, and could lack important self-extinguishing safety features, have higher nicotine concentration levels, contain banned ingredients or have oversized tanks for nicotine.

Two people, a 33-year-old man, and a 38-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of weapons offences at the Bierdronka store and have been released on police bail.

Sergeant Lee Mayfield led the operation from Grantham Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT). He said: “Our primary goal is to keep our community safe from harm, and illicit cigarettes, vapes and tobacco pose a serious risk to health as well as fuel funding for other related criminal activity. 

“The sale of goods like this also has an economic impact by causing a shift away from footfall and purchases for authentic retailers. Most importantly, this is an issue which the public have told us they care about, and it’s right that they looked to their local Neighbourhood Policing Team to take action. We planned this jointly with Trading Standards as the agency with authority over illicit goods, and the results have been better than we hoped. Our next step will be seeking closure orders on the venues to prevent further harm to the public.”

The case will now be investigated by Lincolnshire Trading Standards, as the agency with primacy to deal with illegal trading in the county.

Andy Wright, Principal Trading Standards Officer added: “We have now set up working arrangements with Police and other partners in Grantham, Spalding, Boston, Lincoln, Gainsborough and Skegness to combat trade in illegal cigarettes and vapes. The results of such partnership working are plain to see. Many of the cigarettes seized were counterfeit, and none of those seized had been subject to UK Duty payment. This undermines local businesses who seek to trade legally. 

“In one premises I found a failed asylum seeker with no right to work in charge of the shop. Details will be passed to Immigration Officers for further investigation. We have received information from members of the public that some of the businesses concerned have been linked to sales of vapes to persons under the age of 18 (vapes are an age restricted product). 

“It is particularly concerning that some of the vapes recovered contained 15,000 ‘puffs’, or 25ml of fluid. This equates to roughly the same nicotine content as 315 average king size cigarettes.”