A court has taken the rare step of closing a Peterborough store for 3 months after two raids in August last year and in January of this year seized 35,000 illicit cigarettes and 3,500 illegal vapes. EuroFood in Lincoln Road, Millfield, has been closed for three months following an investigation by Peterborough City Council’s trading standards team.
The closure order was granted at Peterborough magistrates’ court last Thursday (Thursday) following raids by trading standards, resulting in the seizure of approximately 35,000 illicit cigarettes and 3,500 illegal vapes.
Police and trading standards said they had received “multiple reports” from the public concerning illegal vapes and tobacco being sold at the premises.
Raids have taken place previously:
- August 2023 – seized approximately 4,400 illegal cigarettes and 2,000 illegal vapes
- January 2024 – in one raid seized approximately 5,600 illegal cigarettes and 900 vapes and another raid 24,600 illegal cigarettes and 621 vapes
Joanne Smith, consumer protection team leader for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trading Standards said: “The order has an instant and substantial impact on EuroFood.
“It is the first time we have used such an order for illicit tobacco, and it sends a clear message to the organised crime gangs behind these crimes that the sale of illicit tobacco products in Peterborough will not be tolerated.”
She said the work falls under ‘Alliance‘, a multi-agency, community-focussed initiative to Across the city, there is ongoing multi-agency enforcement to tackle the supply of illegal tobacco and nicotine products.
Members of the public can report intelligence or concerns of criminal activity anonymously online at www.keep-it-out.co.uk or contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 – Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.
Information about criminal activity can be reported online via the police website.
