News MBC joins forces with partners to seize illegal goods in town centre
Working with partner agencies the Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) Community Protection Team helped seize thousands of counterfeit goods from shops in the town centre.
Illicit tobacco, illegal vapes and counterfeit goods were among items that were seized by the team yesterday from four Maidstone stores when they joined forces with Kent Trading Standards and Kent Police and visited shops reported to be selling goods illegally.
The teams made unannounced inspections to retailers in High Street, King Street, Knightrider Street and Week Street when items seized included:
- 15,920 cigarettes
- 1,025 vapes
- 6.65kg tobacco
- 30 packs of tobacco pods
- 1,367 counterfeit items; including fake designer watches and electrical goods
MBC Leader of the Council – Cllr David Burton said:
Taking these illegal goods off the streets of Maidstone is vitally important to stop these illicit dealings. Illegal dealings like this very often feeds into other criminal activity and can be incredibly harmful to our community. People may not realise that the goods they are buying are not genuine and could be harmful to their health and wallet.I am delighted that our Community Protection Team is working closely with our partner organisations and this is a great example of collaboration and making the streets of Maidstone safer for everyone.
Safe, Clean and Green is a priority for Maidstone Borough Council and these types of joint operations reflect this and the work being carried out as part of the Town Centre Task Force.