Herefordshire council have said they’re “continuing to fight” against illegal tobacco and vape sales in the county, following temporarily closing a Ross-on-Wye vape shop.

The Mini Market vape shop at 49 Broad Street, Ross-on-Wye has been issued with a court order forcing it to close for a full three-month period, ending on 19 November this year, after the council’s trading standards team discovered illegal tobacco products during a raid.

Hereford Magistrates heard that on 4 enforcement visits since June 2023, 592 illegal vapes, 581 packs of illegal cigarettes, and 5.75 kg of counterfeit hand rolling tobacco have been seized.

There had also been two sales of vape devices to under 18s, as well as the sale of two illegal oversize vapes to a Trading Standards operative.  A secret stash of illegal vapes was also found in an outside toilet at the back of shop.

Appearing by video link, the current business owner Akar Dyer Hassan of Gloucester, denied any connection with any of the seized items, but admitted being the owner of the shop premises on that date.

The court ordered that the shop remain closed until midnight on 19 November 2024, commenting that the issuing of the order was important to protect children of the Ross area, along with the prevention of further crimes.

Hassan, of Gloucester, was also ordered to pay £1050 costs.

Charles Yarnold, head of regulation and technical services said: “The use of these emergency closure powers by Herefordshire Council, with the assistance of West Mercia Police, is a proven method for successfully tackling this major criminal activity.

"The sale of illegal tobacco, even from a relatively small shop can lead to half-a-million pounds tax evasion per year and some of the illegal vapes seized from this shop contain up to an astonishing 25 times the legal limit of nicotine.