Counterfeit e-cigarettes worth up to £800,000 have been seized in a Broughton warehouse raid
Officials suggest that the products breach safety regulations and 65,000 of the items are suspected to be counterfeit.
More than 80,000 e-cigarettes were found in totals as part of the multi-agency raid last week.
Five people were arrested at the warehouse on suspicion of working illegally at the premises.
£4,000 of suspected ‘profits’ were also seized from the property in the raid. The team also seized over £25,000 which is now subject to a proceeds of crime investigation.
Salford City Council’s trading standards team teamed up with Immigration Enforcement officers, Officers from Greater Manchester Police as part of Operation Vulcan, the North West Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service for the raid.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue have now condemned the warehouse as unsafe.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the warehouse.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, lead member for environment and community safety, said the team had previously seized items from the premises and given advice on complying with the law.
“We won’t hesitate to take action as many times as necessary against businesses which break the law and put people’s health at risk with illegal products,” she said.
“If anyone has information about illegal or counterfeit goods being sold they can report it anonymously to Crimestoppers and help stamp this out.
“Apart from putting people’s health in danger, it’s not fair to legitimate businesses which are working hard to stay on the right side of the law.”
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