A vape shop in Stockton has been shut down for three months after it was found to be selling illegal cigarettes and vapes.

The closure of Teesside Vape Shop, located on Bishopton Lane, was secured by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, November 27. 

The Court heard that Trading Standards officers first visited the shop in October 2024 to inspect its operations and provide staff with advice on vape legislation.

During this visit, officers seized 100 vapes that were found to be non-compliant with regulations.

While at the shop, officers also witnessed customers attempting to purchase illegal cigarettes, despite there being no visible signage indicating that tobacco products were being sold.

Two test purchases confirmed that the shop was indeed selling these illicit cigarettes.

A subsequent search of the premises earlier this month, supported by a tobacco detection dog, uncovered 4,690 illicit cigarettes, 29 pouches (1.45kg) of hand-rolling tobacco, and 127 vapes hidden in a concealed area of the shop.

All seized items failed to meet regulatory requirements, with many lacking proper labelling and packaging. Some of the vapes also contained nicotine liquid in excess of the legal limit of 2ml.

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Councillor Norma Stephenson, Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety at the Council, said: "Illicit cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes are very dangerous because it is so difficult to know exactly what they contain.

"I'm pleased our Trading Standards officers have been able to secure this closure order with the support of Cleveland Police.

"It shows that we take the sale of illegal and counterfeit cigarettes and vapes seriously and will continue to shut down shops selling illegal products."

Inspector Matt Reeves from Stockton’s neighbourhood policing team added: "Illicit cigarettes and vapes can not only cause serious harm to people’s health but they can also be linked to serious and organised crime.

I hope this positive outcome reassures the public that we will act on any intelligence reported and encourage people to continue coming forward, no matter how small they think the information might be."

The action was part of Operation Cece, a national initiative aimed at combating the sale of illicit tobacco, run in partnership with National Trading Standards and HMRC.

Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, said: "The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and impacts honest businesses.

"Operation Cece, in partnership with HMRC, continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade, having already removed 46 million illegal cigarettes, 12,600kg of hand-rolling tobacco, and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale."