A Wiltshire vape store has been closed for three months after illegal tobacco and vapes were seized.
Wiltshire Police and Trading Standards officials raided Smoke City in Calne in December after receiving complaints about the sale of illegal tobacco and products to children.
Officers confiscated 92 non-compliant vapes, 345 packages of cigarettes, and 87 pouches of hand rolling tobacco, all of which were discovered to be illegal.
A backpack containing £3055 in cash was also seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
On Friday, January 24, the store was issued a three-month closure order by Swindon Magistrates Court.
During this period, only regular residents and allowed visitors are permitted to enter the premises.
Anyone else found on the premises might face imprisonment or a fine if convicted.
Smoke City, which opened in November 2024, is the sixth outlet in Wiltshire to close due to identical charges in the last six months.
Three firms in Chippenham, Melksham, and Devizes were shuttered for three months in December.
Among these was the Chippenham New Road Mini Market, and officers raiding Smoke City identified an employee operating on the premises as a former employee of this store.
Paperwork connected to the prior shutdown was also discovered on the property.
Cllr Dominic Muns, cabinet member for the environment, said: “I’d like to thank our Trading Standards officers for their hard work in achieving another great outcome.
“Thank you also to Wiltshire Police for their assistance in keeping the people safe and preventing these unscrupulous traders from trading.
“Their collaboration is invaluable when we carry out these operations.”
Cllr Muns continued, “Unfortunately, businesses that offer non-compliant vapes and illegal tobacco products care nothing about the impact on their clients’ health.
“Illegal tobacco is not regulated or manufactured to the same standards as normal tobacco and is often found to contain higher levels of harmful substances, as well as chemicals which are not normally permitted.”
Wiltshire Police Sgt Mike Tripp said: “We are committed to crack down on firms that endanger the public’s health by selling non-compliant tobacco and vapes.
“The laws around them exist for a reason. We know that illicit vapes and tobacco, such as those confiscated in recent searches, may contain deadly levels of nicotine or substances that you are unaware you are inhaling.
“We are grateful to Trading Standards for their work and collaboration on these raids and we will continue to work with our partners to keep the public safe.”
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