Almost £60,000 worth of illegal goods seized in Surrey crackdown on high street businesses

A coordinated national effort “Operation Machinize” has seen Surrey’s Trading Standards team collaborating with partners to seize £58,075 of illegal goods.

The multi-agency approach involved Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards, Surrey Police, Home Office Immigration, Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and tobacco detection dogs, targeting high street businesses suspected of criminal activity across Surrey.

Operation Machinize in Surrey has resulted in 19,740 illegal cigarettes, 8,100 grams of illegal tobacco and 7,128 illegal vapes seized, alongside 164 illegal e-liquids and one counterfeit Labubu.

Kevin Deanus, Cabinet Member for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service and Resilience joined a day of action with the team, as part of Operation Machinize. Kevin said: “Operation Machinize has one simple aim: to help keep our highstreets safe and in the build up to Christmas that is more important than ever.

“I was pleased to join our Trading Standards team recently for the day in Godalming, to see their hard work in action.

“This operation demonstrates the power of collaboration in tackling organised crime and the results reflect the dedication of our teams and partners in keeping our high streets safe.”

Illicit and counterfeit items can be extremely dangerous because they are often made with low-quality materials, lack safety testing, and may contain toxic ingredients that pose significant health risks. Profits from counterfeit goods can fund other illegal activities, such as drug dealing, money laundering, and human trafficking.

As part of the operation, community engagement days also took place recently, to raise awareness and encourage reporting of counterfeit goods. These events were held in partnership with Surrey Police, CrimeStoppers and One You Surrey, that included the use of tobacco detection dogs to demonstrate how illegal goods are identified.

Illegal goods are sold year-round and you can help keep our highstreets safer too. To report illegal or counterfeit goods, please visit Surrey County Council’s website and search “Consumer advice” or calling 0808 223 1133.

Notes to editors:
Operation Machinize is the ongoing NCA-coordinated operation to tackle money laundering and criminal use of cash-intensive high street businesses.