KitKats and Lion Bars being incinerated after raid on sweet shop

Almost £3,000 worth of sweets were seized and will be destroyed

More than 600 items including American sweets, cereal and crisps have been sent to the incinerator after a raid at a candy shop. Westminster City Council (WCC) said officers seized the products as they contained additives, colourings and E numbers banned in the UK.

Pictures show bags packed full of the illicit items - valued at £2,852.75. Several of the chocolate bars were not labelled in English, meaning consumers were unable to check the products for ingredients, sell-by dates or allergens, WCC said.

Trading standards teams also uncovered illicit Lucky Charms cereal, KitKats, Lion bars and a variety of bottled drinks including Mirinda and Fanta all containing “dangerous” and “harmful” ingredients. This is the latest raid on the premises which was previously found to be selling Swedish Fish and Hot Tamales sweets, which are banned in the UK due to the impact their additive ingredients can have on children.

Council staff attended Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 1 where the destruction of 676 goods was ordered and £3,110.25 was awarded. The seized snacks are now set to be incinerated, which the business is also required to pay for.

Cllr Adam Hug, WCC's leader, said: “We are continuing to make the lives of unscrupulous traders a nightmare through regular enforcement action and putting pressure on landlords. This collection of illegal sweets was enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine.

“There are more raids coming in the next few weeks, so I hope traders who seem happy to sell illegal goods to children are ready for a fright.”