More than 1.4 million illegal cigarettes seized in tobaccoraids

More than 1.4 million counterfeit and illicit cigarettes have been seized by specialist tobacco sniffer dogs in a campaign across 14 local trading standards areas across Central England.
The campaign, which also saw 515 kg of hand-rolling tobacco and 1.7 tons of niche tobacco seized, was run by council teams in the Central England Trading Standards Authorities (CEnTSA).

The goods were seized in the last financial year (2015/16) with a loss of duty to the government around £30,000. The total retail value of the illegal goods is estimated to be worth in excess of £1 million. In addition, some shops had their alcohol licences suspended or revoked for dealing with counterfeit and illicit tobacco products.