Heart of the South West Trading Standards has made one of its biggest ever seizures of illegal tobacco products and vapes, removing more than £166,000 worth of illicit products from sale.
Officers from Heart of the South West Trading Standards, accompanied by tobacco detection dogs and Devon & Cornwall Police, found more than 18,000 counterfeit and non-duty paid cigarettes and tobacco products, and 2,000 illicit vapes, at an address in south Devon earlier this month.
A number of individuals are under investigation and enquiries remain ongoing.
Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Trading Standards, said: “The removal of illegal tobacco and vapes from entering the marketplace is a high priority for us, and this was yet another successful operation.
“The service uses detection dogs so regardless of where it is hidden, in a storage container or retail premises, the dogs have the ability to sniff out even small quantities of tobacco that are hidden from view.”
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Carrying out this proactive warrant resulted in a significant amount of counterfeit goods being removed from the streets and circulation.
“I’d like to urge members of the public to report concerns to us so we can continue to disrupt illegal activity.”
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