​Illicit tobacco trade targeted in trading standards operation

Illegal tobacco and cigarettes have been seized from local shops by Bury’s trading standards officers.

A specialist tobacco detection dog, supplied by Wagtail UK, sniffed out concealed stashes of tobacco while visiting six premises in Radcliffe and Bury.

Working with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Greater Manchester Police (GMP), and Immigration Enforcement, officers confiscated 4.45kg of tobacco and 3,768 illegal cigarettes worth more than £3,000.Counterfeit postage stamps and drugs were also seized during the operation, and Immigration are now seeking to remove a Pakistani man for over-staying his leave in the UK, which could result in a £20,000 fine for the shop in which he was found.

The raids were part of the national Operation Henry 2, co-ordinated by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and supported by the Department of Health, to tackle illicit tobacco supplies in nine regions of England.

Angela Lomax from Bury Council’s trading standards team said: “We are working hard to keep these illegal products off the streets and are cracking down on the businesses and individuals that flout the law.

"Detection dogs can find tobacco and cigarettes in the most unlikely places and in addition to having their stock confiscated offenders could face unlimited fines and up to ten years in prison.”

Leon Livermore, CTSI chief executive, said: "The illegal tobacco trade costs taxpayers about £2 billion per year in lost revenue and is known to fund organised crime networks and criminal gang activity.

“Together we are winning the battle and figures show that the market share of illicit cigarettes has dropped from 21 per cent to 9 per cent in the last decade.

"Intelligence-led investigations like Operation Henry 2 keep illegal cigarettes and tobacco off the market and away from children and young people."

Operation Henry was launched last year and led to the seizure of more than 2.5 million cigarettes worth £614,488 with concealed tobacco products found in walls, under floorboards and inside furniture.

Anyone with information about illegal tobacco can call the Tackling Illegal Tobacco hotline on 0300 999 0000 or report online at www.keep-it-out.co.uk

ENDS

Press release issued: 11 March 2016.

Picture: Sniffer dog Alfie, from Wagtail UK, discovers illegal tobacco at a shop in the borough of Bury.