A bombshell new report found that half of all convenience stores and vape retailers in parts of the UK have links to organised crime – with three cities identified as hotspots for ‘dodgy shops’
A new report has revealed significant links between American Candy shops and organised crime (file photo)(Image: Getty Images)
Half of all convenience stores and vape shops in some areas of Britain have links with organised crime, according to a bombshell new report.
A survey by Trading Standards found that 97% of its officers are aware of suspected organised crime groups (OCGs) operating out of retail premises on their local high streets – with three areas seeing a huge concentration of dodgy businesses.
Up to a third of ‘American candy’ shops and one in four fast food takeaways in some of the worst-hit regions are suspected of being a front for criminal activity, the organisation’s Hidden In Plain Sight report said.
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There was also “almost universal recognition” – involving 99% of officers – that Trading Standards had seen an increase in the number of cash-intensive businesses opening on their local high streets since 2020.
Almost three quarters of Trading Standards professionals (72%) reported experiencing intimidatory behaviour or had been threatened with violence in the course of their duties.
Trading Standards has published a map of high streets across the UK for so-called dodgy shops, along with the 10 towns and cities perceived by its officers to be hot spots for OCGs.
Birmingham, Liverpool and London fill the top three spots.
Bradford, Manchester, Leeds, Coventry, Sheffield, Huddersfield and Brighton make up the rest of the top 10.
It said the budgets of Local Authority Trading Standards (LATS) services had been cut by up to 50% over the last decade, with staffing stripped to minimum levels.
Trading Standards warned that this – coupled with resource “challenges” for other key enforcement agencies including police – had coincided with the rapid spread of the shops across the UK, as well as complex criminal networks that underpinned them.
Dodgy shops had a “profound impact” on the safety of the public and the viability of the legitimate businesses around them, while putting the health of consumers, including children, at risk.
These shops often brought with them associated criminality including anti-social behaviour, theft and violent crime, drug supply, modern slavery, and child sexual exploitation.
One trading standards team in Dudley recently told of an ”epidemic” of serious crime linked to vape shops, including devices and illegal goods being handed to children “in return for sexual favours”.
The new report outlined a 10-point plan to “reclaim the UK’s high streets”, including investing in Trading Standards, making the sale of illegal goods a trigger for licence review, and an additional £20 million to bolster Trading Standards resources for ports and borders.
John Herriman, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: “It is clear from this research that serious and organised crime is endemic across the UK, and the threat posed by illegitimate high street businesses is having a significant impact on the work of Trading Standards, and our ability to protect consumers and maintain the level playing field for legitimate business.
“Local Authority Trading Standards services have faced damaging funding cuts of up to 50% over the past decade, with key enforcement partners experiencing similar resourcing challenges.
“We recognise that the Government is focussed on this issue, but it must urgently bring together and properly invest in enforcement agencies – including Local Authority Trading Standards – to give us the powers and resources needed to tackle what is a widespread and growing national problem.”
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive, Ed Woodall, said: “Responsible convenience retailers are extremely frustrated with rogue traders operating with impunity in their local area.
“85% of retailers asked in our 2026 Crime Survey said that illicit trading has increased in their local area – this cannot be allowed to continue.
“We have consistently called for Trading Standards to be given the resources they need to tackle the dangerous and growing illicit market blighting communities across the UK.
“Tens of millions of pounds need to be invested in local enforcement capacity to shut down these rogue traders and support the responsible retailers that are suffering as a result.”
