Trading standards officers in Wolverhampton have seized a massive haul of illicit tobacco and suspected counterfeit products, including popular Labubu toys and designer perfumes, in a series of coordinated raids.
Details of the Major Seizure
The operation, which took place on Wednesday, 18 December 2025, saw officers from City of Wolverhampton Council's trading standards department, supported by West Midlands Police and a specialist tobacco detection dog, target four shops and one van.
The scale of the find was substantial. Officers recovered a total of 54,065 single cigarettes, with the vast majority – 46,950 – discovered hidden inside the van. Alongside the cigarettes, the haul included:
- 430 banned disposable vapes.
- 237 pouches of banned oral tobacco.
- 35 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco.
- 8.5kg of non-duty paid shisha tobacco.
- Four tubs of foreign-labelled nicotine pouches.
Counterfeit Toys and Perfumes Also Found
The raids also uncovered a significant quantity of suspected counterfeit consumer goods, often targeted at Christmas shoppers. These items included 294 suspected fake Labubu keyrings and six counterfeit Labubu dolls.
Furthermore, officers seized 175 roll-on perfumes bearing suspect Chanel, Armani, and Tom Ford trademarks. Also confiscated were 303 packets of American and Labubu-branded sweets and chocolates that fail to meet UK labelling regulations.
If all the seized items were genuine, their estimated retail value would be £51,700. The duty evaded on the tobacco products alone is calculated to be more than £28,000.
Action and Official Statements
The seizures were conducted under the national Operation CeCe, a Trading Standards initiative run in partnership with HMRC. The council confirmed that action will now be taken against the owners of the premises where the goods were found, with further investigations launched to trace their suppliers.
Cllr Bhupinder Gakhal, Cabinet Member for Resident Services, stated: "We are absolutely committed to the safety of our residents and we will not hesitate to clamp down on the sales of illicit and counterfeit products. This is the time of year that families might be looking for presents for their children or gifts for others and we will not accept the sale of items which could be dangerous."
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, emphasised the wider impact: "The illicit tobacco trade is driven by organised criminal gangs and poses serious risks to local communities, especially young people." He highlighted that Operation CeCe has so far removed 69 million illegal cigarettes and thousands of kilograms of tobacco from sale across the UK.
Once investigations are complete, the illegal cigarettes and tobacco will be handed over to a recycling scheme.
