18,220 illegal cigarettes found being sold in city shops during operation
SIX KILOGRAMS OF COUNTERFEIT TOBACCO ALSO SEIZED DURING MULTI-FORCE RAIDS
RAIDS on shops in Chaddesden, Allenton, Alvaston and Normanton revealed a large quantity of illegal tobacco and cigarettes.
The two-day operation was carried out by the city’s trading standards team, Derbyshire police and two sniffer dogs called Jack and Frankie, as part of a national initiative called Operation CeCe.
Between them they visited seven shops, which were searched, with help from the sniffer dogs, to find hidden tobacco and cigarettes.
In one shop, products had been concealed in boxes made to look like audio speakers.
These empty boxes were used to transport the illicit products into the premises and then displayed within the shop.
In other shops, concealments were discovered in walls, behind shelving and in hidden drawers.
In total, 18,220 cigarettes and six kilograms of tobacco were seized.
Tobacco in the UK must be sold in plain packaging, but trading standards officials are seeing counterfeit plain packaged tobacco entering the market, as well as more colourful packaging intended for non-UK markets.
Ultimately, the sale of illicit tobacco products hits taxpayers in the pocket as duty is not paid.
Even more concerning is that some counterfeit tobacco products have been found to contain rat faeces, sawdust, lead, arsenic and even dust and detritus swept up from floors where the products are produced.
Councillor Jonathan Smale, cabinet member for place and community development said: “I was thrilled to join the team on Tuesday to get a full picture of all the hard work that happens to keep consumers safe from illicit and counterfeit products in the city.
“The illicit tobacco trade isn’t a victimless crime and recent prosecutions by the trading standards team shows that we will not tolerate this kind of activity in our city.
“I’d urge residents to report the sale of these items to us via Crimestoppers, Action Fraud or Citizens Advice.”
Residents can report the suspected sale of illicit cigarettes and tobacco confidentially on:
Crimestoppers website or by calling 0800 555 111
Action Fraud website or by calling 0300 123 2040
Citizens Advice website or by calling 0808 223 1133