An ice cream van known to park near primary schools in County Durham was raided as part of the latest crackdown on illicit tobacco sales.
Trading Standards officers from Durham County Council and police officers from Durham Constabulary searched the ice cream van at its storage location on a West Auckland farm, along with several other vehicles and a house in Bishop Auckland.
The raids were carried out on Wednesday evening (25 February) following tip offs that suspected counterfeit cigarettes were being sold from the van, which has been known to stop close to some primary schools. However, it is not known if any sales were made to children.
As a result of the raids a man and a woman were arrested and 4,560 cigarettes and 20.35kg of hand rolling tobacco was seized along with a large amount of cash. The cigarettes are believed to be ‘cheap whites’ made especially for the illegal market and the hand rolling tobacco is believed to be smuggled. The estimated street value of the haul is more than £4,000.
Joanne Waller, head of environment, health and consumer protection at Durham County Council, said: “It is extremely concerning to receive information about suspected illegal tobacco being sold in the vicinity of schools.
“It is important to be clear that we do not know if tobacco has been sold to any children in this instance but we would obviously never wish for young people to be exposed to this type of activity.
“We know that most smokers start when they are children and every year 207,000 under 18s take up the habit, including nearly 9,000 in the North East alone. A recent survey of smokers in the region found the average age at which they start was just 15.
“Working alongside our partners in the County Durham Tobacco Control Alliance we are committed to breaking the cycle of addiction and exposure to tobacco in every community so that fewer people are affected by this deadly habit.
“One of the alliance’s ambitions is that by 2030, smoking prevalence in the county is reduced to five per cent, and this is driven by a vision to make children the future focus for protection.”
Wednesday’s raid was the latest in a series of joint operations between Trading Standards and police with more than with more than 53,600 illicit cigarettes and 1,249 pouches of illicit tobacco having been seized in the county since April 2014.
Anyone convicted of supplying counterfeit tobacco could face up to 10 years in prison as well as unlimited fines and their assets may be seized via proceeds of crime action.
To report information about the supply of illegal tobacco in the county in confidence call Trading Standards on 03000 261016 or email tradingstandards@durham.gov.uk