Doncaster raids lead to officers seizing banned vapes and Labubus

Illegal vapes, counterfeit cigarettes and potentially dangerous toys have been seized by police and trading standards officers during an operation into the sale of fake goods.

South Yorkshire Police visited four high street shops in Doncaster on Wednesday over concerns they were selling illegal products.

As well as vapes and cigarettes, officers also recovered 60 fake Labubu dolls, which are considered dangerous due to small parts which could easily be removed and form choking hazards.

Police said two men were arrested for drugs and immigration offences and have been released on bail.

At one store, officers found cigarettes hidden in a wall at the back, and they also discovered cannabis.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis and for an immigration offence.

Police said the owner of the business faces a potential fine of up to £120,000.

At another shop, a makeshift bedroom was found and a man was arrested for immigration offences and released on bail.

The owner of that store faces a potential fine of up to £60,000, police added.

The items which were seized include approximately 1,100 illegal or counterfeit vapes; around 700 packets of illegal or counterfeit cigarettes; 60 suspected fake Labubus; a quantity of cannabis-based products and prescription drugs.

Officers from immigration enforcement and the Department of Work and Pensions were also present, and they recovered three passports during the raids.

Labubu dolls are based on a quirky monster character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, and have proved hugely popular with children.

Thousands of fake versions of the brand have flooded into the UK in recent months, with statistics released earlier this year by the Home Office revealing that of 259,000 fake toys seized by Border Force in 2025, some 236,000 were counterfeit Labubus.

Many of the vapes were single-use, which were banned from sale from 1 June this year – the aim being to protect children’s health and reduce damage to the environment.

Det Sgt Donna Simcock, from the modern slavery and organised crime immigration unit at South Yorkshire Police, said: “We are out here doing this to ensure the safety of our communities. You don’t know what is in these vapes and these sort of products.

“It is really important for those legitimate businesses to see that we are taking action against those that are selling counterfeit products.”

Nick Johnson, from Doncaster Council Trading Standards, added: “We have seized illicit tobacco, and most of it is counterfeit.

“It is in UK standardised packaging, however there are security codes that aren’t right, the track and trace numbers on the bottom of the packets are all the same, the health warnings aren’t correct and we have found items that are not for the UK market.”

He said that genuine Labubu dolls were usually well-made but that the imitations had eyes, feet and a small logo which all easily came off and could be choking hazards for children.

“We work to make sure that Doncaster is a safer space for people to live their lives, and the products that they want to buy are genuine products and not products that are a risk to their health.”