Illegal tobacco seized at Whitchurch store

Illicit cigarettes and tobacco with a street value of almost £9,000 were discovered at a Shropshire shop when officers joined Trading Standard on a visit.

Whitchurch Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) carried out the operation with Shropshire Council's Trading Standards at a premises on the High Street last Tuesday (9 June) following intelligence that they were selling the illegal tobacco products.

SNT and Trading Standards carried out a search during which they found 692 packs of cigarettes and 220 packs of hand rolling tobacco, which are estimated to hold a value of £8,992. Enquiries remain on-going with Trading Standards/HMRC now taking on the investigation. 

PC Mark Bates of Whitchurch SNT said: “Last week we visited a retailer suspected of selling illicit cigarettes in a joint operation with Trading Standards.

“During our search we discovered almost £9,000 of illegal products within the shop, which have now been recovered by our partners.

“We will continue to target stores suspected of selling counterfeit tobacco to protect our communities from harm and act where appropriate.

“The black market for illegal products undermines legitimate retailers and is often connected to organised criminal gangs and modern-day slavery.”