Shopkeeper who sold illegal vapes ordered to cough up £300,000

A SHOPKEEPER jailed for running an illegal vapes business has been ordered to hand over £300,000 in proceeds of crime payments.

- JASON EVANS

Kashif Iqbal was selling vapes containing enough liquid for up to 4,000 “puffs” while legal vapes typically offer around 600 puffs.

Evidence showed that while primarily a retailer, the defendant was also supplying the devices to others on a wholesale business. The investigation into Iqbal would ultimately lead to a Welsh local authority taking down a major supplier of illegal vapes to shops around the UK.

Swansea Crown Court has previously heard that Iqbal was prosecuted after Swansea council trading standards officers carried out a series of visits and test purchases at the Rebel Vapes shop in Morrison during 2022 as part of an operation targeting the supply of illegal vapes in the county. During the visits hundreds of vapes were seized.