Hampshire police seize Illicit tobacco and vapes worth more than £30,000 in Gosport and Fareham

In a joint operation with HM Revenue and Customs, Hampshire police officers visited three businesses in Gosport and two in Fareham as part of “ongoing enquiries” into serious organised crime in the area. £3,000 in cash was also seized during the operation in Tuesday, May 21.

Writing on social media, a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson said: “We just wanted to update you about a joint operation to tackle serious and organised crime related to the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes that took place on Tuesday 21 May in Gosport and Fareham. The HMRC operation was supported by Hampshire Trading Standards Team, thirteen officers from our Neighbourhood Policing Team, the Licensing team, and the Violent Crime Reduction Unit.

“In Gosport three business premises were visited, with £20,000 of illicit tobacco, vapes and £3,000 of cash seized as part of ongoing enquiries. In Fareham two business premises were visited, with £11,200 of illicit tobacco and vapes seized as part of ongoing enquiries.”

Inspector Warne from Gosport’s Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “We work closely with our partner agencies and those in law enforcement and will continue to do so to remove the Serious Organised Crime threats Gosport and Fareham face. Jointly working to target criminality in our area can bring us the best results and help build our towns into an area that say no to criminals profiting from our communities.

“I want to thank the people of Gosport and Fareham for your continued support. It’s been really beneficial to work with Hampshire Trading Standards team and His Majesties Revenue and Customs in another successful operation to disrupt and prevent crime in our towns. We are sending the clear message, no more, we will continue to relentlessly pursue criminals to keep our communities safe”.