Four shops in Torbay have been closed down for selling illegal vapes and counterfeit tobacco following an operation by police and partners. 

Officers from Devon & Cornwall Police have been working with Heart of the South West Trading Standards to stamp out the sale of illegal products and, as a result, four shops in Torbay have been shut down for three months. The order can be extended if necessary.

The shops had previously been warned about what they were selling and continued to trade illegally.    

Plymouth Magistrates Court granted the closure orders for the shops at a hearing on Thursday 17 July, following an application by Devon & Cornwall Police.

Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service and Devon & Cornwall Police served the closure notices on all shops after previous inspections had revealed stashes of illegal products. The hidden items were revealed with the help of specialist detection dogs and the clever canines assisted officers by finding the haul.

Torquay Inspector Rob Harvey said: “Police will continue to work with colleagues at Trading Standards to take action and reassure the public that information reported to us will be acted upon. This is a significant step to get four commercial premises closed on the same day by the court and sends a strong message to businesses that we will not tolerate illegal sales which could harm the public’s health.

"We want to safeguard local communities and respond to concerns. We have found that this type of illegal activity can also harm trade for legitimate local businesses and is often linked to offences of modern-day slavery and exploitation.”    

The premises subject to closure orders are:

• American shop, 140 Union Street, Torquay
• Palace Mini Market, 36 Palace Ave, Paignton
• Tower Store, 10a Torquay Road, Paignton
• Paignton Express, 40 Victoria Street, Paignton

Alex Fry, Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service’s Operations Manager, added: “We will support businesses that play by the rules but we have had issues with all five businesses with respect to illegal tobacco products and now they are unable to trade for three months.

“Each of the businesses hid the products they were selling and two of the businesses, specifically built places to conceal the products. However, our use of detection dogs ensures that these products don’t stay hidden for long.

“This is a great example of how we have worked with our partners in Devon and Cornwall Police to act on intelligence and target unscrupulous sellers.”

Police and partners have secured a total of 29 closure orders (commercial and residential) across Torquay, Newton, Exeter and surrounding areas of South Devon in the last 12 months.

Councillor Hayley Tranter, Torbay Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities, commented: “I welcome these closures and the partnership working between the police and trading standards that led to this action being taken. The products being sold are not just illegal, they’re also extremely dangerous to people’s health.

“Rogue businesses should be under no illusion that if they continue to undermine the work of honest traders we will come after them with the full force of the law.”