Vape shop in Reading forced to shut after it continued to sell illegal products
A vape shop in Reading has been forced to shut after it continued to sell illegal products.
An investigation found the 'Vape Shop' was a front for selling illegal tobacco and illegal vape pens.
Trading Standards says it had received reports from local parents and residents that children as young as 13 were getting products there.
Trading under various names between 2019 and 2024, it is estimated that over 115,000 cigarettes have been seized from the business to date. Despite its rebranding as Vape Shop, illegal trading activities continued.
Sniffer dogs found illegal cigarettes hidden under the shop counter, in the walls, and behind a false shelf and a mirror.
After officers located keys to a car, which was parked around the corner and known to be linked to the business, 20,000 cigarettes stored in the vehicle were discovered.
84 illegal vape pens were also discovered in the vehicle.
Some products were found to falsely advertise a capacity of more than 15,000 puffs, more than 25 times the legal limit of nicotine strength and tank size under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations.The shop must remain closed until at least February next year.
Cllr Karen Rowland, lead Councillor for Environmental Services and Community Safety, said: "This is an excellent result, following several years of careful observation work by our Trading Standards officers, and I’d like to sincerely thank our partner organisations, Thames Valley Police, and HM Revenue and Customs, for their support during the operation.
"The business clearly had no consideration for the health and wellbeing of their customers in the community.
"They were simply running a dangerous business to undercut sales by legitimate shops in the area with the primary interest of lining their own pockets.
"Anyone involved in the illegal tobacco trade is complicit in making it more attractive for children to start smoking, taking advantage of cash-strapped families, as well undermining our compliant traders in Reading.
“This business- and indeed any similar operations - need to be clear that such closures can and will happen again, should they attempt such detrimental activities in the future.
"Operations such as this have no place in our communities, and I would strongly urge anyone with information on shops such as this to report them which can be done so anonymously."
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