Closure order secured for Norton Vape and flat
A Norton Shop and the flat above it has been closed for selling illicit and counterfeit cigarettes.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council secured a three-month Closure Order for Norton Vape and Flat A, 274 Norton Road at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Thursday, December 18.
The Court heard how complaints had been made from the public regarding illicit cigarette sales and sales of vapes to school children.
Test purchases carried out by the Council's Trading Standards Team, confirmed cigarettes sold at the premises failed to comply with the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and did not have a combined health warning in accordance with the requirements under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.
The purchases carried out also confirmed that cigarettes bought from Norton Vapes were found to be counterfeit, in contravention of the Trade Marks Act 1994.
Norton Vape stored the illicit tobacco and illegal vapes in Flat A, 274 Norton Road, making deliveries into Norton Vape as orders were received, in a bid to avoid their detection and subsequent seizure.
The illicit tobacco was found piled up in boxes with a total value of over £33,000.
Trading Standards officers, in a joint operation with Police Officers from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit, subsequently searched the shop seizing 200 cigarettes from Norton Vape and a packet of illicit hand rolling tobacco found in the ceiling void in the rear kitchen area.
A further visit carried out on 16 December resulted in another 2360 cigarettes and 33 pouches of hand rolling tobacco seized.
In total officers seized 28,940 illegal cigarettes, 326 pouches of illicit hand rolling tobacco and 47 illegal vapes.
A related criminal investigation is ongoing.
Councillor Norma Stephenson, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety, said: "Once again the Trading Standards team has worked diligently and swiftly to secure a closure order on a business which has flouted their legal obligations.
"I would also like to thank the police for their assistance in helping us secure this closure order.
"This closure should remind business owners that we will continue to clamp down on the sale of illicit products which can be harmful to the health of people who purchase and use them.
"I'd also like to encourage local people to keep reporting any sales of illicit or counterfeit tobacco and single use vapes to us, so we can take the necessary action.
"Anyone concerned about the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes can contact our Trading Standards team by calling 01642 526560 or emailing trading.standards@stockton.gov.uk."
This work was carried out as part of Operation Cece, which is run in partnership with the National Trading Standards and HMRC to help tackle the sales of illicit tobacco.
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair, National Trading Standards, said: "The illicit tobacco trade is driven by organised criminal gangs and poses serious risks to local communities, especially young people. Since its launch in January 2021, Operation CeCe - a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC - has removed 69 million illegal cigarettes, 19,750kg of hand-rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, helping to clamp down on this illicit trade and protect communities and honest businesses across the UK."
