NEARLY £2,500 worth of illegal cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco has been seized from five Coventry shops as part of Coventry Trading Standards clamp down on illegal trade.
Working with specially trained sniffer dogs, the police and immigration officers visited nine shops in the city following intelligence which suggested illegal tobacco products were being sold.
Sniffer dogs discovered secret compartments concealing illegal cigarettes in four of the shops after the highly-trained pair indicated something was hidden.
Officers had to dismantle a counter and break tiling to reveal purpose-built hiding places that used sophisticated electric rollers, electromagnets and lift mechanisms to open up the concealment.
The action was taken after staff inside the shops refused to provide information on how the concealment mechanisms worked or denied all knowledge of the existence of the hiding places.
In total, 617 packets of cigarettes along with some loose leaf tobacco were seized.
Tracy Miller, Coventry City Council’s head of planning and regulation said: “I saw first-hand the lengths some of these local shopkeepers took to carry on this illegal trade.
“It is only through the excellent work of dedicated trading standards staff who use Intelligence gathering techniques and specially trained sniffer dogs that these ingenious hiding places are found.”
In addition to the finds, immigration officers also found someone working in a shop that did not have the right to work.
To ensure the security of the property, trading standards officers locked up the shop and took the keys – they have since been contacted by the owner.
The discovery comes just weeks after a similar operation in Foleshill found nearly £9,000 worth of illegal cigarettes in a flat.
Following the seizure, further intelligence was received and officers – accompanied by specialist sniffer dogs – visited a number of local shops and discovered more illegal tobacco products.
Over 1,200 packets of cigarettes were found by a sniffer dog in the boot of a motor vehicle belonging to a shop owner.
During the Foleshill operation, a total of 2,241 packs of cigarettes and 143 packets of hand rolling tobacco were found and seized.
Allan Harwood, Coventry City Council’s trading standards and consumer protection manager, said: “Some people think that selling illegal cigarettes is a victimless crime, but that is not the case.
“All tobacco is harmful but illegal tobacco poses an additional threat to our children and communities because it is sold at pocket money prices by criminals who are not interested in asking for proof of age.
“It is clear the sale of illegal tobacco is very organised and thankfully our team regularly act on information they receive.”
Since the latest discoveries, residents are being encouraged to be vigilant and report those involved in selling illegal tobacco.
Call the anonymous hotline on 0300 303 2636 if you believe some in Coventry is supplying fake goods.
