Illegal tobacco and suspicious substances seized after eight Wolverhampton shops raided
Illegal tobacco and dozens of bags of suspicious substances were seized, and action was taken against two suspected illegal immigrants, during a series of raids in Wolverhampton.
They swooped at eight shops along Dudley Road, Blakenhall after months of investigations into alleged illegal activity.
In addition to the tobacco, officers took away three packs of blunt cigars and paraphernalia associated with packaging illegal tobacco.
Several bags of suspicious substances were also seized and will be sent off for analysis. Officers at the scene suspected it could be a type of opium.
At one business, officers found a 29-year-old Indian man who had overstayed his student visa. He was escorted from the premises as he had no permission to work.
Mini Mart was served a notice warning that they are liable for a financial penalty of up to £20,000 for employing the worker unless evidence is provided that correct pre-employment checks were carried out.
At a second premises, officers arrested a 46-year-old Indian man for overstaying his visit visa. Both of these men have been ordered to report regularly to the Home Office while their cases are progressed.
In total, officers seized £5,000 of illicit cigarettes, chewing tobacco and blunts and 21 boxes of packets of chewing tobacco and three boxes of packets of 'oral tobacco' from two premises.
The oral tobacco that was seized has no street value as it is completely banned in the UK. Trading Standards are now liaising with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on this.
In addition, small quantities of illicit cigarettes, chewing tobacco and blunts were taken from four other premises, some of which were hidden in other packaging.
A 'significant quantity' of an unknown substance was identified at one premises along with over 20 bags of dried organic matter in a small unit at the rear of the shop which appeared to be some sort of manufacturing facility. Samples have been taken by West Midlands Police for forensic analysis.
Police also took a man found at one of the shops into custody over concerns about his right to live in the UK. There was no illicit alcohol was found at any of the premises.
The raids, which took place on Thursday, were the second carried out as part of Operation Riposte. In July trading standards netted the biggest ever haul of illicit booze and cigarettes in Wolverhampton, with an estimated £150,000 of goods seized from two stores.
Briefing officers before the raids, licensing Manager Colin Parr said the day's activity was the result of intelligence from the local community about a raft of problems including immigration, tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
He added some of this information had come from previous visits to the premises by various agencies, while other tips had been given to them at PACT forums or directly to officers by members of the public.
Four teams were involved, each paying a visit to one shop in the morning and another in the afternoon. They were made up officers from trading standards, food regulators, police officers, trademark experts, Home Office immigration enforcement officers, drugs officers and sniffer dogs to weed out hidden tobacco and illegal drugs.
In his briefing Mr Parr told officers to look out for walls that look 'a bit too new', secret compartments and curry powder 'where it shouldn't be' in a attempt to confuse the sniffer dogs.
Despite the haul being significantly smaller than in the first set of raids in July, Mr Parr was not disappointed with the day's work.
"Some of the premises we have been to this morning have checked out to be fully compliant," he explained. "That suggests to us the previous activities of several agencies have been a success.
"People should not think Dudley Road is a hub for this sort of thing. These were shops where we had intelligence about illegal immigrants and others we have been keeping tabs on.
"We have carried out thorough investigations, checking every nook and cranny and making use of state-of-the-art technology and not found large quantities of illegal goods."
Mr Parr said depending on the results of tests carried out on seized goods, the council could seek to either suspend or revoke licences at the shops.
