From Blue Cheese to Formula X: 100 'legal highs' seized in Dudley raid

'Blue Cheese', 'Formula X', 'Blue Horn' and 'China White' were just some of the substances confiscated in the joint operation between trading standards and police officers.

The raid came after reports of new psychoactive substances being sold in the shop, causing young people to suffer significant health issues.

Officers visited the premises at around 1pm on Friday, secured the building and carried out a search.

More than 100 products were seized, including herbal substances and powder 'supplements'. Several of the items were clearly labelled as not for human consumption.

The owner of the shop has been invited for a police interview in the coming days.

Chief Inspector Simon Inglis, West Midlands Police's lead for drugs, warned that people who take 'legal highs' are 'playing Russian Roulette with their lives'.

He said: "Even though these products are not yet banned under criminal law, there is significant evidence to show that these so-called 'legal highs' are a significant risk to public health. We will continue to work with our partners to remove these dangerous products from the streets.

"Those people who take them are playing Russian roulette with their lives and we need the public to understand the danger they pose. Research shows that a proportion of these products actually contain controlled drugs and if they are found in these products seized today the shop owners will face prosecution."

It comes after the Government announced that a planned blanket ban on 'legal highs' has been put back until at least May.

The Psychoactive Substances Act will bring in a blanket ban on the production, distribution, sale and supply of "designer drugs", with sellers facing up to seven years in prison.

However, the Government has now delayed the legislation after confusion over how the ban would be enforced.