The hoodies who deliver drugs around here all seem to be riding e-bikes now, often at 40mph+, implying they have a very large motor (there are 2.5kW bikes advertised on Facebook) The regs are not being enforced very well.
I've watched videos on youtube of multiple gig economy riders who all use illegal ebikes and blatantly make their deliveries at high speeds often without pedalling on the road. From what I've seen I'd say about three fifths of the riders I've seen are illegal. The thing is the extra speed means higher wages for them, if they can make every delivery 10% quicker then in real terms that is a significant pay increase. Unlike gig economy riders on mopeds they have no tax or insurance to pay and they can ride on the pavements, cycle paths etc without issue to do shortcuts etc. Maybe over a month of riding that could be an extra £200 or something. Of course if they come across a policeman who knows about ebike laws then the ebike could be confiscated or if he causes an accident then the illegal nature of his ebike could cause him major issues.
Even shop bought ebikes can be hacked for higher output and many would claim the peak 700 watts or more of standard mid-drive motors like Bosch is illegal anyway as far above the rated or nominal wattage of the motor.
I personally think ebike laws are a mess and could be simplified to simply no assistance above 15.5mph and no twist and go functionality and thats it. I mean 250W motor ruling when the motor itself doesn't control the wattage its how much the controller puts into the motor that is important.