Illegal vapes worth thousands seized from Ipswich shop

Cardinal Convenience Store in Franciscan Way was raided by Suffolk Trading Standards after selling an illegal device to an undercover inspector in a test purchase in January this year. 

The vape had 6.40ml of fluid within it - which is more than three times the 2ml legal capacity limit for a disposable vape. 

Suffolk Trading Standards then searched the business and found 867 illegal vapes worth more than £8,000. 

The vapes were forfeited at court and the owner was fined following a prosecution by Trading Standards. 

The shop is owned by Kaka Baran Ltd and the sole director is Sabah Mamand who appeared at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Monday, November 18. 

Mamand, of Hogarth Road, Ipswich, pleaded guilty both as director and as a representative of the company to selling an illegal e-cigarette and possession for supply of 867 illegal e-cigarettes, contrary to the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016. 

He was fined £230 and ordered to pay costs of £392.

The court also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the e-cigarettes. 

Mamand claimed in an interview that the 867 vapes seized in January 2024 were stock that was not found during a previous seizure operation in February 2023.

However, he could not provide evidence to back this up. 

Graham Crisp, head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “This case highlights the need for shop keepers to comply with the rules when stocking and selling vapes.

“Kaka Baran Ltd were found with non-compliant vapes on two occasions before this seizure in January 2024.

“Despite receiving guidance following these seizures, Mr Mamand admitted in interview that he knew these vapes were non-compliant but still decided to sell them.

“He has now lost stock worth thousands of pounds and received a criminal conviction for ignoring those rules.”

Steve Wiles, of Suffolk County Council (Image: SCC)

Steve Wiles, Suffolk County Council cabinet member for public protection, said: “I congratulate Trading Standards for their hard work in ensuring these illegal vapes do not end up in our community.

“Vapes serve an important purpose in helping people to quit smoking, however oversized disposable vapes vape are illegal.

“Businesses must ensure that any vapes they sell comply with the rules designed to protect consumers, and this case sends a clear message that they will be brought before the courts if they fail to do so.”