£107k of 'illegal' goods seized from US candy store raid on Oxford Street as council vows 'no Happy New Year' for traders
20 January 2023, 12:10
The latest in a series of raids on Oxford Street's US-style candy shops has seen officers seize £107k of 'illegal goods' including bags of vapes and shisha.
It follows a series of raids led by Westminster City Council in June last year, which saw £600K of illegal goods seized across nine stores.
Now, the council has vowed there will be "no Happy New Year for unscrupulous traders", as more than 6,500 disposable vapes with excessive levels of nicotine were seized.
The January 19 raid also saw 145 cosmetic products taken citing a lack of adequate labelling.
Trading Standards were tipped off about the illegal activity after customers complained about being overcharged for goods at the store, which cannot be named for legal reasons.
The haul saw 6,575 vapes confiscated, alongside 481 nicotine pouches, 91 counterfeit Apple products, 75 power banks and 136 shisha products being sold without health warning labels.
Last summer's raid saw council workers label the seizure the "tip of iceberg" when it came to criminality on London's most renowned shopping street.
The raids also saw £250,000 of business rates recouped by Westminster City Council, with a third of the candy storesclosing as a result.
Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said: “The rash of mixed sweet and souvenir shops which sprung up on Oxford Street during lockdown has dragged the tone of this area down as well as in some cases opening flouting trading standards laws and fleeing customers.
“However, we are now seeing consistent and determined action by Westminster City Council getting results. In two raids alone this month, we have seized £120,000 worth of goods we suspect to be either illegal or counterfeit.
“Westminster City Council will keep the pressure up and ensure there is no Happy New Year for unscrupulous traders.
"We will also keep on urging ministers to ensure HMRC and the National Crime Agency have the resources they need to fight to wider suspected illegality around some of these venues.”
