In 2024-2025, Trading Standards in Newport, UK, seized £6.5 million (about $8.13 million) worth of illicit tobacco, vapes and counterfeit goods, including 300,000 cigarettes, 12,400 vapes and nearly 5,000 counterfeits, through 41 raids. The special operation was highly effective, with a year-on-year decrease in underage tobacco sales violations.
Core Watch:
- In 2024-2025, Trading Standards in Newport, UK, seized £6.5 million (approximately $8.13 million) worth of illicit tobacco, vapes, and counterfeit goods in 41 raids;
- Enforcement results: Ten-fold year-on-year surge in total value of seizures, mainly due to high-value counterfeit goods (priced as genuine);
- Specialized operations: National awards for “Crown of Fire,” focused on cracking down on illicit supply chains. Policy follow-up: implementation of the disposable vape ban and completion of legal literacy for more than 80 retailers.
Illegal goods worth £6.5m seized in Newport, UK
Nation Cymru reported on July 18, 2024, that trading standards officers in Newport, U.K., seized 6.5 million pounds ($8.13 million) worth of contraband in a special operation to combat illicit tobacco, vapes, and counterfeit goods, and that law enforcement officers conducted unannounced inspections of 41 establishments in the city between March 2024 and April 2025, according to a newly released municipal report.
According to the newly released city report, more than 300,000 cigarettes, 144 kilograms of tobacco, 12,400 “unsafe” vapes, and nearly 5,000 pieces of counterfeit merchandise were seized during the operation.
Vapes and counterfeits in focus of a crackdown
While more tobacco products were seized in 2024. The total value of seizures in 2024-2025 jumped tenfold to ten times the value of 2024 due to the interception of high-value counterfeits (based on the estimated price of genuine goods).
This was due to the success of two specialized operations, code-named “Frost” and “Firecres”, against unscrupulous traders. Operation Firecres won Newport City Council and Gwent Police a national trading standards award for its effectiveness in tackling the illicit tobacco and vape supply chain in the Pillgwenlly area.
The Council encouraged residents to report illegal products through the ‘No ifs no butts’ campaign website. The campaign states that illegal vapes are ‘untested’ products that may not comply with regulations, including counterfeit brands, excessive nicotine levels, or suspected smuggling. Disposable vapes have been banned in the UK since June, and Newport trading standards officers have visited more than 80 retailers across the city to publicize the change in the law.
Illegal tobacco, as defined by the ‘No ifs no butts’ campaign, also includes smuggled cigarettes, illicit cigarettes, loose cigarettes, and tax-evading products, and the 2024-2025 municipal report includes data on underage purchases of tobacco and vape products. It is encouraging to note that violations have improved from 2024: 17 out of 60 stores inspected in 2024 failed the “test purchase,” while only 11 out of 63 stores inspected in 2025 failed, and all violators were educated on the regulations.
