ILLEGAL tobacco, disposable vapes and unsafe toys have been seized from a Tameside shop.
Police, council officers and immigration officials joined forces in a week-long operation targeting organised crime.
The action formed part of Operation Lock-stream – a national initiative aimed at disrupting organised immigration crime and criminal activity linked to everyday businesses.
Trading Standards and Environmental Health officers from Tameside Council worked alongside Greater Manchester Police and Immigration Enforcement to inspect six premises across the borough, including shops and car washes.
During the inspections, health and safety concerns were identified at three businesses, while two people were bailed by immigration officers over alleged breaches of visa conditions.
Trading Standards officers also confiscated a quantity of unsafe toys, illegal disposable vapes and illicit tobacco from one shop.
Investigations into the businesses involved are continuing, with Trading Standards and Environmental Health officers expected to take enforcement action where breaches of regulations are found.
Councillor Laura Boyle, Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Environmental Services and Neighbourhoods, said: “It’s great to see the success of Operation Lock-stream, with illegal and unsafe items being removed from shops before they could be sold to our residents. Our teams work hard to ensure residents’ safety is always prioritised, and these cases will now be reviewed as investigations continue.
“This operation is part of wider, ongoing work from our teams to crack down on premises supporting organised crime and causing harm to our local communities.”
Operation Lock-stream is led nationally by the Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce at the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and brings together law enforcement and local authorities to target businesses suspected of being linked to organised criminal activity.