Illegal cigarettes seized by officers

SLOUGH: More than 1,000 illegal cigarettes have been removed from sale thanks to the intervention of two council sniffer dogs.

Trading standards officers visited seven shops in Slough last week on the hunt for illegal tobacco, and were assisted by Cooper, a red labrador, and Yo-Yo, a cocker spaniel.

In total, four seizures were made – three from shops and one from the boot of an unlocked and abandoned car – with a street value of more than £10,000.

Illegal tobacco, often sold for less than legal and taxed products, means shopkeepers can undercut the prices of other nearby premises, leading to unfair competition.

And cheaper prices will mean people are less likely to give up smoking as the cost is no longer an incentive to quit.

Councillor Balvinder S Bains, cabinet member for regulation and public protection at Slough Council, said: “It may be residents don’t realise they are buying illegal tobacco, or they don’t care because it is cheap, however the shopkeepers certainly should know it is illegal and that they are breaking the law by selling it, however covertly.”