Trading standards and police have closed yet another business for selling illegal tobacco – despite repeated warnings and dramatic attempts to escape with contraband. On Wednesday, 26 November, District Judge Smith at Exeter Magistrates’ Court granted a three-month closure order on The Mini Market, 156 Cowick Street, Exeter. The order …
Public Health
Operation Machinize 2: Thousands of businesses targeted in coordinated crackdown on high street crime
Thousands of premises have been targeted in the second iteration of Operation Machinize, a national initiative targeting the criminal exploitation of high street businesses. Operation Machinize 2, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and conducted in cooperation with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), ran throughout October and involved …
Counterfeit items seized in joint police and Trading Standards operation
Counterfeit items were seized from high street shops in Plymouth this week by police and Trading Standards officers, tackling organised crime. Heart of the South West Trading Standards and Devon and Cornwall Police were taking part in Operation Machinize, an ongoing national operation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA). …
Wine investment fraud
The NTS Tri Region Investigation Team supported Hertfordshire Trading Standards’ successful investigation into a wine investment fraud. The fraudsters convinced consumers to invest in fine Bordeaux wine such as Chateau Mouton Rothschild, on the back of a lie that the company did not make any money until they sold the …
Six more shops closed for peddling illegal tobacco and vapes
Posted on 12 September 2025 Evidence collected by our trading standards service has led to six more shops being closed for peddling illegal tobacco and vapes, the highest numbers of closures of its kind ever seen in Devon on a single day. Following a hearing at Plymouth Magistrates Court on Thursday …
Stores in Gloucestershire sold knives and vapes to under -18s
Gloucestershire Trading Standards have expressed their disappointment after stores sold products including knives, vapes, alcohol and a corrosive substance to underage buyers in undercover operations. A Trading Standards operation was held during August 2025 and involved volunteers from Gloucestershire Constabulary’s police cadets, aged between 15 and 17, who attempted to …