The chair of National Trading Standards has praised Medway Council for its work to combat illicit tobacco trading.
Lord Michael Bichard wrote to Medway Council Leader Cllr Vince Maple and Chief Executive Richard Hicks last week, to thank the council for its work in Operation CeCe - which aims to crack down on businesses and individuals selling illegal tobacco products.
Run in conjunction with HMRC since January 2020, the operation saw funding provided to support local authority Trading Standards Services in undertaking local disruption and seizures of illicit tobacco.
In 2023, using government funding, Medway Trading Standards was able to employ a temporary officer to concentrate on tackling illegal tobacco products across Medway.
This work, along with the assistance of specialist sniffer dog teams, led to the seizure of 9769 packets of cigarettes (195,380 individual cigarettes) and 1174 packets of hand rolling tobacco.
The success put Medway among the top 15 councils for tobacco seizures - relative to funding received - across the country.
Nationally, the operation has resulted in the seizure of over 45 million cigarettes and 11 tonnes of hand rolling tobacco, with a revenue value of almost £26 million across England and Wales.
Writing to the council, Lord Bichard explained the national figures represented a return on investment of almost £11 for every £1 spent, adding: “Not only does this work support the overall strategy across England and Wales, but it also helps protect local communities from the problems associated with the supply of illicit tobacco, and those criminals involved in the supply chains.
“I wanted to thank you for the excellent support provided by your Trading Standards Service as part of this programme. Medway Council was one of the top 15 across the country in terms of using these grant funds to secure seizures of tobacco as part of this programme of work in 2023.”
Cllr Tristan Osborne, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Enforcement, said: “It’s great to hear of the continued success of this campaign against illegal tobacco around the country, but especially pleasing to hear about the effectiveness of our work here in Medway. Our team has put the funding made available to excellent use, and continues to strive in its efforts to crack down on those profiting from illicit products. I want to thank everyone involved in this campaign, and hope that with continued government support we can continue with this important work in the future.”