Operation Reclaim: Illegal cigarettes seized in Nottingham

Two shops have been closed after officers discovered large quantities of illegal tobacco.

Nottinghamshire Police supported Trading Standards officers to carry out enforcement operations at Sherwood Booze, in Mansfield Road, Sherwood, and Vape Zone in Upper Parliament Street, in Nottingham city centre.

A search of the Sherwood premises led to the discovery of a false wall within a shelving unit in a back room. Behind it were 308 packets of illegal cigarettes and 17 pouches of illegal hand rolling tobacco.

The hidden stash of illegal products had an estimated street value of £1,625, with an investigation finding packets were being sold for as little as £5.

Brands including Richmond, Lambert & Butler, Marlboro Gold, Benson & Hedges, Top Gun, Platinum Seven and Oscar were among the seized packets, having not been made to EU or UK regulations.

Illegal tobacco products are often made overseas and may contain dangerous chemicals or carcinogens banned from regulated tobacco.

The illegal products were being sold for as little as £5 a packet – with some packets failing to show mandatory health warning labels.

Nottinghamshire Police and Trading Standards officers launched a joint investigation after receiving a report of illegal activity.

Undercover officers attended the shop a number of times between September 2025 and March 2026 and were sold illegal cigarettes on three occasions.

Nottinghamshire Police applied for a three-month closure order and it was granted by magistrates on Thursday (7 May).

On the same day, Vape Zone, in the city centre, was also issued with a three-month closure order having been caught distributing and selling illicit tobacco.

Police and Trading Standards attended the premises in Upper Parliament Street and found a quantity of illegal cigarettes on the front counter.

The closure orders come as Nottinghamshire Police announces the deployment of high-visibility patrols to different sections of the city centre as part of major plans to make Nottingham 'a no-go area' for criminals to operate.

Operation Reclaim is a collaborative project to solve the biggest problems affecting the city including youth ASB, drug dealing, weapon-carrying, illegal e-bikes and retail crime.

It will bring together key partners to ensure that the city becomes as hostile as possible for criminals to operate.

Partners include Nottingham City Council, the Violence Reduction Partnership, Nottinghamshire’s Office of the Police and Commissioner and It’s in Nottingham, which represents city centre businesses.

We will use the Home Office tactic called Clear, Hold, Build, which is a three-phrase approach to make the city safer, restore trust and confidence, and tackle organised crime groups and those causing the most harm to the city centre.

PC Dylan Scally, who oversaw the closure orders, said:

“Premises that sell illicit cigarettes show a blatant disregard for the law and their customers.

“It signifies a conscious and reckless decision to put people’s health at risk by exposing them to cheap unregulated products with no legal market.

“One of the primary roles of Trading Standards is to ensure fairness in the market place for all traders. These shops are situated in areas where there are a number of other genuine businesses offering similar products.

“By continuing to sell illegal tobacco products at a significantly reduced price, the shops were gaining an unfair advantage over law-abiding businesses.

“Such illegal trading will not be tolerated and we will continue to work closely with partner agencies to take action where necessary.”

Chief Inspector Kylie Davies, of Nottinghamshire Police, added:

“Illegal tobacco products cause real harm to our communities and can also be linked to other more serious criminal offending.

“We regularly carry out test purchases at local premises to ensure they are complying with the law, and I am pleased to say that most of our retailers are acting in a responsible way.

“Those who are not can expect to face this kind of enforcement action and all the consequences that go with it.”