Shopkeeper hid £10,000 worth of illicit fags and vapes in secret compartment

17 November 2023 , 21:15

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The secret compartment that rises up under a cabinet is pictured (Image: DerbyCityCouncilTradingStd /SWNS)

Cops raided a shop and found more than £10,000 worth of illegal tobacco, cigarettes and vapes hidden in a secret James Bond-style compartment under the floor.

Police and a trading standards team found the illicit stash at a shop in Derby thanks to a sniffer dog picking up a scent. Officials discovered the shopkeeper had installed a fake kitchen counter on hydraulic legs that would raise and lower at the push of a button.

A hidden chamber, built under the floor, would rise up revealing the bags of illegal tobacco, cigarettes and vapes. The discovery was made during a raid in the shop's storeroom on November 7.

A shopkeeper hid £10,000 worth of illicit tobacco and vapes in the secret compartment (DerbyCityCouncilTradingStd /SWNS)

Derby City Council said some criminals were going to “extraordinary lengths” to try and keep illicit tobacco hidden from officials. Over the past year, the council's trading standards team have seized 791,000 cigarettes and almost 140kg of hand rolling tobacco.

An additional 5,082 illegal vapes have also been taken off the shelves, the council said. Councillor Shiraz Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Property and Regulatory Services, said: “These products undermine the health of adults and children around the city, but we will continue to work hard tackling this issue.

They look and taste like sweets - no wonder underage vaping is sweeping Britain

"It is reassuring to know that no matter how elaborate the hiding places may become, our officers, and their partners, are able to track down and seize these illicit products before they reach citizens."

Vapers face paying an extra £1.40 a week under Rishi Sunak’s plan to stop people taking up the habit. Ministers are plotting a new tax on vaping to make it harder for children to get their hands on e-cigarettes. It is understood the Government is looking to copy European countries such as Germany and Italy that already have levies on vapes.

Users typically go through one 10ml bottle of e-liquid a week, which costs around £4 at present. In Germany, a £1.40 vape tax is slapped on 10ml bottles, with plans to double this to £2.80 in 2026. Italy, which in 2014 became the first country to tax e-cigarette fluid, charges a £1.10 levy on 10ml bottles.

Adam Dutton