Police seize hundreds of 'illegal' vapes and find stores registered under wrong owners

Officers with the confiscated items

Police have confiscated hundreds of illegal vapes during raids at takeaways, small shops, and pubs across Middleton, as part of a crackdown on antisocial behaviour in the town.

Some stores were found to be registered to the wrong owners, and were made to close pending the correct arrangements being made.

Supported by council licensing and trading standards officers, officers conducted a series of visits under Operation Venture, a force-wide initiative aimed at combating the trade of illegal substances, including unauthorised vapes.

On Friday (30 August) officers from Greater Manchester Police along with trading standards officials seized hundreds of vapes along with other illegal products not permitted in the UK.

It has been confirmed that action is being taken against the involved businesses.

Further interventions will follow where repeat offenders are identified and do not make the adequate changes.

Chief Inspector Bryn Saville, from GMP’s Rochdale district, said: “Tackling the root causes of issues such as ASB can mean we markedly tackle those responsible.

"By preventing illegal vapes and other products such as drug paraphernalia from being sold, we can stop crimes that blight people’s lives.

“These products have now been through the rigorous tests that are required and can cause untold harm to those using them. We will always seek to protect our communities and punish those responsible for causing those issues.

“Our work with partners ensures we can tackle crime from a variety of directions – closing down businesses, seizing vapes, securing arrests and charging people with crimes.”

Councillor Tricia Ayrton, Rochdale Borough Council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment, said: “As a local authority we have a duty to ensure that products being sold by our local businesses are safe and that consumers and communities are protected from dangerous goods.

“We work regularly with police and this latest operation in Middleton uncovered a number of concerning issues that we will follow up. If anyone has concerns about a business they should contact us and we will look into it.”