Raids In County Durham

Top Store in Framwellgate Moor has been closed for three months following one of the raids. 

“We successfully applied to the courts for a Closure Order for Top Store in Framwellgate Moor, near Durham City,” said Trading Standards.

Magistrates in Peterlee heard that the Trading Standards team, together with officers from Durham Constabulary, executed a warrant of entry at the shop and an associated vehicle following a tip off from a member of the public.

During the search, the officers seized 9,220 illegal cigarettes, 4.9kg of counterfeit hand rolling tobacco and 581 ‘non-compliant disposable electronic cigarettes’. In total, the seized goods had an illicit market value of £10,104.00.

Near the end of the three-month Closure Order on the premises, the business will be re-inspected. If concerns about compliance still exist, Trading Standards will consider if there are grounds to seek an extension of the Closure Order for a further three months.

Joanne Waller, County Durham’s  head of community protection, commented: "Illegal tobacco might not seem like a big deal, but it brings crime and health problems into our communities, often fuelling human trafficking, the drugs trade and loan shark. It also makes it easier for children to get hold of cheap tobacco and has an impact on compliant businesses.

"We hope this closure acts as a warning to other businesses that we will not tolerate the trade of illegal tobacco in County Durham. We will continue to investigate these cases and further action will be taken if necessary."

Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, added: "The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.

"Having removed 19 million illegal cigarettes and 5,103kg of hand rolling tobacco in 2023-24, Operation CeCe - a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC - has taken £27.2 million pounds worth of illicit tobacco off the market since the operation launched in 2021 and continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade." 

A Closure Order has also been made against the Quick Pick Store in Peterlee, Country Durham.

The council said: “With support from Durham Constabulary, we executed a warrant of entry. We discovered a false wall which, when removed, revealed more than £16,000-worth of illegal tobacco-related products. In total, the team seized 10,060 cigarettes and 15.25 kg of hand-rolling tobacco, along with 852 non-compliant disposable vapes. The items had an illicit market value of around £16,211. The court granted a three-month closure order on the premises, lasting until February 2025, and ordered Quick Pick Store to pay £1,709 in costs.”

Gary Carr, the council’s strategic regulation manager, said: “Tackling illegal tobacco remains a key priority for us, as it brings crime and health problems into our communities. It can often fuel human trafficking, the drugs trade and loan sharks, as well as impact on compliant businesses and make it easier for children to get hold of cheap tobacco.

“We’d like to thank the community for providing us with the intelligence for Quick Pick Store. Receiving community intelligence is a vital way for us to know if suspected illegal trade is being carried out and we would encourage anyone with information on the suspected sale of illegal items to report it to us, so that we can investigate and take action if necessary.

“We hope that another successful closure will act as a warning to other businesses that we will not tolerate the trade of illegal tobacco in County Durham.”

The council says that members of the public with any information on the suspected sale of illegal items can report it by calling the illegal tobacco hotline on 0300 999 0000.

Photo Credit:

• Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.