Officers from Barnet Council's Trading Standards team have confiscated illegal tobacco products with a street value exceeding £3 million during a series of coordinated raids across north London. The operation, part of a national initiative known as Operation CeCe, targeted businesses and storage facilities in several areas.
Major Haul from Covert Inspections
The council's team, working alongside the Metropolitan Police and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), executed raids at five businesses and a self-storage container in locations including Finchley, Colindale, Edgware, West Hendon, and Golders Green. They discovered tonnes of illicit goods, with the most significant find being 3.6 tonnes of raw tobacco leaf.
This leaf was packed into 180 boxes, each weighing 20 kilos. Officials estimate it could have been used to produce at least 72,000 sellable pouches of hand-rolling tobacco, with an estimated retail value of £3,121,200.
In addition to the raw leaf, the raids yielded a substantial haul of finished products:
- 4,506 illegal cigarettes worth £65,337
- 309 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco worth £13,395.15
- 973 non-compliant vapes worth £9,730
- 59.55 kilos of shisha tobacco worth £2,976.91
The items were found concealed in various locations, including behind hidden doors, inside two vehicles, within a safe, and in a large self-storage container near one of the raided premises. The search was aided by two sniffer dogs, four-year-old Dora and six-year-old Skye, both springer spaniels.
Follow-Up Operation Nets Arrests and Cash
Just five days after the initial seizures, the Trading Standards team launched a follow-up action, dubbed Operation Dinar. This operation targeted an alleged organised crime group, building on intelligence gathered during a previous Operation CeCe raid in September.
Officers conducted four simultaneous raids on a Tuesday, hitting a smoking store in Hendon, a linked shop in Tottenham, and the home addresses of two suspects in the London boroughs of Haringey and Ealing. Both suspects were taken into police custody.
During these raids, a further cache of illicit goods and cash was recovered:
- 1,621 cigarettes worth £23,504.50
- 2,435 vapes worth £24,350
- 59 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco worth £2,557.65
- 1kg of shisha tobacco worth £49.99
- Over £4,000 in cash
The total value of goods and cash seized in Operation Dinar was £50,462.14.
Council Vows to Protect Residents' Health
Councillor Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, emphasised the importance of this enforcement work. He stated that Trading Standards officers 'covertly inspect businesses on a regular basis to ensure they’re trading fairly and within the law'.
'We take the health and wellbeing of our residents extremely seriously,' Cllr Rawlings said, 'and businesses should not be profiteering on the black market by selling products that will cause them harm.' The crackdown highlights the ongoing battle against the illegal tobacco trade, which undermines public health regulations and legitimate businesses.
