Illegal oversized vapes worth £2.7m seized and destroyed by trading standards in Northampton

Vapes worth more than £2.7m have been destroyed after trading standards officers found they were illegal and unsafe.

When the shipment was seized in a warehouse in Northampton, officers discovered that the vapes had a capacity of 10 times the legal limit.

After obtaining a court order, the team from West Northamptonshire Council destroyed all the vapes and claimed back the costs of doing so.

The council told the court that disposable vapes must contain no more than 2ml of liquid, but some of the devices inspected at the warehouse of Tongda Distribution Ltd contained up to 20ml of liquid, breaching safety legislation.

Trading standards officers investigated after being tipped off by their counterparts in Essex, said the council.

Information provided by the owners of the warehouse showed the goods had no UK-based owner and were imported to be sold on to UK-based sales and distribution agents.

Councillor David Smith said: “Tackling the sale of illegal vapes is a priority for the council and I am pleased to hear of the outcome from today’s court proceedings enabling us to seize and destroy over £2m worth of illegal and unsafe vapes.

“I am delighted that we have prevented the sale of these illegal, unsafe vapes – we remain committed to safeguarding our residents from the dangers of the illegal vape trade.”

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