ILLEGAL products worth more than £250,000 were seized across Staffordshire last year, Trading Standards have revealed.
Among the 220,000 items taken off sale in 2024 were banned American candy, oversized vapes and counterfeit goods.
Staffordshire Country Council said the seizures also included more than 176,000 illicit cigarettes and 109kg of rolling tobacco.
Cllr Victoria Wilson, cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council, said:
“These are significant amounts of illegal goods and tackling the supply of them and disrupting the criminal networks behind them remains a priority for the team.
“Making these seizures is vital work and not only prevents potentially harmful products from reaching consumers but also helps protect legitimate traders and the local economy.
“The teams successes do rely on the support from the public about the sales of such goods and anyone with information should contact the team.
“Criminals should also remember that officers are never far away and will take the necessary action against any illegal activities.”
Over 8,000 unsafe or non-compliant products were also removed from sale, including electrical goods, children’s toys and PPE.
More than 1,620 counterfeit goods were also seized from shops, markets and from online sellers with a retail value of £6,100.
People can report the sale of illegal goods to Trading Standards by calling 01785 330356.
All sounds good but is this actually value for money for the tax payer? What was the total annual cost of employing and facilitating the team responsible for this work? I bet it’s not far off the £250k they seized.