New task force set up to combat counterfeit cigarettes

A NEW task force has been set up to tackle the problem of counterfeit and illegally smuggled cigarettes on the streets of Notts. The county council has invested £91,000 of its public health funding into the initiative, which will pay for investigations to cut down on the supply and use of illegal tobacco products. The team has already carried out its first raids in nine shops across Sutton-in-Ashfield, Hucknall, Mansfield, Stapleford and Netherfield, and two houses in Gedling. They uncovered around 90,000 counterfeit cigarettes and 20kg of illegal tobacco with an estimated street value of £40,000.