In May, seven high street shops across Birmingham faced raids by police and trading standards officers as part of a coordinated effort to tackle organised crime in the West Midlands. This crackdown follows the launch of the government’s High Street Organised Crime Unit, targeting shady businesses operating across key areas noted for high levels of retail crime—including Greater Manchester, Kent, Essex, and the West Midlands.
Undercover investigations by the BBC revealed the sale of serious illegal drugs at some mini-marts in the region, including cocaine, cannabis, nitrous oxide, and prescription-only medications. Meanwhile, trading standards continue to seize illegal vapes, tobacco, and counterfeit cigarette products, which are widely circulated in the area.
Last year alone, 108 Birmingham shops received council warnings for violating vape sale regulations. New laws banning the sale of single-use disposable vapes came into effect on June 1, 2025, aiming to curb the trade of dangerous and unregulated vaping products.
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Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has actively promoted the government’s new unit on social media. She emphasized that criminal gangs exploit high streets to launder money and undercut legitimate businesses, vowing a nationwide crackdown to remove these illegal fronts, confiscate illicit funds, and prosecute offenders.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) will lead this initiative over the coming three years, coordinating efforts between government departments, police forces, and local councils to dismantle visible criminal networks operating in the UK’s town centers.
Recent raids illustrate the scale of the problem. On May 26, a supermarket on Lozells Road was searched, resulting in the seizure of 974 packs of illegal cigarettes, hundreds of illicit tobacco products, and over 20 tubs of shisha. West Midlands Police warned that such illegal trading is far from harmless and often fuels anti-social behavior and violence.
In another incident on Ladypool Road, three men were arrested on suspicion of possessing nitrous oxide with intent to supply after the drug was found behind the counter of a local shop, alongside keys to a van containing further evidence of nitrous oxide use.
Shops in Handsworth were also targeted on May 13, with officers confiscating a massive array of illegal items, including thousands of illicit cigarettes and tobacco packets, unlicensed medicines such as Viagra and antibiotics, sex pills, alcohol, vapes, and even harmful cosmetic products like counterfeit eyeliner. Disturbingly, officers also recovered metal baseball bats and a machete from behind the counter, weapons the shopkeeper claimed were used for cutting sugar cane.
Between May 12 and 14, three joint enforcement operations took place across Birmingham. These operations resulted in the seizure of thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit and illegal goods, including over 11,000 illicit cigarettes, 2kg of fake hand-rolling tobacco, almost 200 illegal vapes, nine large nitrous oxide canisters, and over 100 smokeless tobacco products. The raids led to three arrests and the seizure of a vehicle.
This concerted action sends a clear message that illegal trade on Birmingham’s high streets will not be tolerated. The collaboration between police, trading standards, and government units aims to restore safety, support honest businesses, and stamp out the organised crime networks hidden in plain sight.