Authorities seized thousands of illegal cigarettes and bottles of alcohol from Cardiff shops in just one day. The operation saw HMRC, police, and Trading Standards officers visit 46 premises across the city on Wednesday.
They found illicit items including 1.25kg of hand-rolling tobacco, 1,670 cigarettes, 947.5 litres of beer, and 25.12 litres of spirits as well as a "large quantity" of vapes. Investigations are ongoing.
One of the premises attended by officers was the C&A Chinese supermarket in Cowbridge Road East, Canton. Owner Tina Chen told WalesOnline the officers raised no issues except for a single packet of Chinese cigarettes which were for her personal use and not for sale. She said she was surprised they seized the packet.
"I wasn't selling the cigarettes here but [one of the officers] didn't like it," said Ms Chen. "I told him it was for myself but he didn't seem to get it. I have never sold cigarettes here."
She said the Chinese brand of cigarettes were a gift from a friend, adding: "I have been in the UK 18 years but I have always used Chinese cigarettes myself." The officers had no other concerns after checks on the shop's alcohol and documentation, she said.
A HMRC spokesman said: “The use and sale of illicit alcohol and tobacco will not be tolerated by us or our partner agencies. Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit market. We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to report it online.”
A BBC investigation found that illegal tobacco can contain eight times as much lead as legal brands and "abnormally high levels of cancer-causing chemicals". In 2021 more than three million illicit cigarettes were confiscated across Wales.
The Welsh Government says there is evidence of the market "feeding" other areas of crime including gangs, drugs, and human trafficking. A report from HMRC estimates that the trade costs the UK taxpayer more than £2bn in lost revenues each year.
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