Xanax, smuggled wine and illicit cigarettes seized in Luton shops raid

Illicit tobacco, smuggled bottles of wine and foreign-labelled medicines were seized in Luton last month as part of a joint operation by Luton Trading Standards and HMRC.

On June 27, teams found illicit products in six shops in the town with a total of 949 tobacco products taken by the authorities. There were also 165 non-duty paid or smuggled bottles of wine and 416 foreign labelled medicines taken from the premises - which included prescription-only medicines.

The medicines included strong opiates like Tramadol and a drug from the Benzodiazepine family. Xanax was also found in the seizure. Such products should only be prescribed by medical professionals.

The premises may now have further action against them - ranging from fines and licence reviews. The landlords of properties will be notified of their tenants’ non-compliant trading. Luton Council declined to say which shops were found with ilicit products "for legal reasons".

Councillor Maria Lovell said: “The nature and variety of the illicit products seized is startling. I commend the efforts of Luton Trading Standards and HMRC in clamping down on the sale of these illegal products.

"Their efforts keep our community safe by ensuring that unregulated, therefore potentially dangerous substances, are not inadvertently bought by Luton residents.”

Cllr Lovell urged businesses that sell alcohol to make sure they have invoices from all their suppliers. She said: “It is not acceptable to buy alcohol from unapproved suppliers.”

Anyone who knows of any shop selling non-duty paid tobacco products and illegal vapes or sell nicotine vapes to under 18 years old, can report in confidence here.