British police seized more than $80,000 worth of illegal tobacco and smoking products during a summer-long crackdown on businesses with suspected ties to organized crime.
The Merseyside Police said these seizures occurred in Wirral, a peninsula in North West England, adjacent to Liverpool. In all, police seized more than 53,000 illegal cigarettes, 29 pounds of hand-rolled tobacco, and 1,000 illegal vapes.
These actions were part of Safer Streets Summer, a countrywide initiative to put more local officers on the streets and to disrupt businesses linked to organized crime.
"We hope our commitment and action sends a strong message to the community that we will relentlessly pursue criminal activity and anti-social behavior to make them feel safe in the places where they live and work," neighborhood inspector Mark Kennedy said in a release.
The health risks associated with smoking are well-known at this point. Smoking tobacco, in any form, can lead to heart disease, lung disease, stroke, cancer, and more. Vapes add some additional risks, as certain vapes expose users to dangerously high levels of lead, nickel, and other metals.
But smoking also presents significant environmental risks.
According to the World Health Organization, more than four trillion cigarette filters pollute our planet. Disposable vapes, which are made mostly of plastic parts plus a lithium battery, are also frequently littered, adding to the growing amount of plastic waste and e-waste.
For this reason, several cities, states, and countries have started putting bans and other strong restrictions on vapes. And in places like Wirral, officials are cracking down more on the illegal vapes and other smoking products that have become more commonplace.
"All criminal or anti-social activity has consequences for communities and affects the quality of life of residents," council member Ian Lewis said in a release. "With things like illicit tobacco and vapes, sales of these undermine legitimate retailers, help fund wider criminal activity, and, significantly, cause harm to people's health."