Police swoop on Wolverhampton shops to seize illegal cigarette and tobacco haul
Fake cigarettes, illegal snuff and dodgy shisha were seized when police and trading standards officers swooped on stores in the Black Country.
Shops in the Whitmore Reans area of Wolverhampton were raided as part of a bid to stamp out the sale of black market tobacco in the city.
Police uncovered more than 100 packets of cigarettes buried beneath fruit and vegetables at one store.
Trading standards officers said the tobacco is 'highly likely' to have been illegally imported and may be fake. A further search of the premises unearthed more than 3kg of illicit snuff packed into labelless, transparent bags and concealed under a pile of onions at the front of the store.
More than 4kg of duty free herbal shisha was also seized from the shop.
Action is set to be taken against the owner of premises.
A raid on another shop in the same area found the owner had been selling alcohol for two years without a licence.
He was ordered to pay a £154 licence fee or risk prosecution.
Wolverhampton City Council's lead for trading standards Paul Dosanjh said the raids were part of an ongoing enforcement campaign.
He said: "Having dangerous, illegal tobacco easily available undermines the work being carried out by the city's public health teams in helping residents, particularly young people, quit smoking and lead healthier lives.
"Legitimate traders have been very supportive of the operation as those selling illegal tobacco adversely affect their trade.
"The aim of operations such as this is to protect both the public and legitimate businesses and the quantity seized highlights the value of these operations."
Trading standards officers have warned that many illicit cigarettes have much higher levels of toxic ingredients such as tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium and arsenic than genuine cigarettes, while some have been found to be filled with human excrement, dead flies, rat droppings, mould and asbestos.
The fake cigarette trade costs the UK around £3bn a year in unpaid duty.
The raids followed a major crackdown in August when more than 30,000 counterfeit or duty free cigarettes and 5.450kg of tobacco were found using sniffer dogs.
