Sniffer dogs find suspect tobacco in Plymouth raid

Over 190 pouches of suspect tobacco have been seized as part of an operation to tackle the illegal trade in Plymouth.

Plymouth City Council's Trading Standards Officers executed a number of warrants on homes in the Devonport area, acting on intelligence indicating the sale of illegal tobacco.

Detector dogs from specialist providers Wag Tails, which are trained to smell tobacco - either hand rolling or cigarettes - were on hand during the searches and it is up to the Trading Standards officers to assess if it is illegal.

Richard Green, Senior Officer (Trading Standards) said: "It was a good result with over 180 50 gram pouches of tobacco seized from one property. It would take the average smoker nearly two years to puff their way through all that tobacco."

A preliminary examination of the tobacco has revealed that the bulk of it is suspected to be counterfeit but this will need to be confirmed by the brand holders. If it is counterfeit this will be the first time that counterfeits of that particular brand have been found in the city.

As well as tobacco a number of bottles of suspected counterfeit perfume were seized from one of the properties.

It is estimated people in Plymouth spend £25,000 a day on illegal tobacco creating a cheap source for adults who would not otherwise be able to afford to smoke.

Last October, a similar operation uncovered 15 bin bags stuffed full of pouches of hand rolling tobacco worth over £44,000 from one premises, while another shop owner handed over 30 pouches of tobacco hidden under the counter the moment the team announced they had a detector dog with them.

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Brian Vincent said: "Half of all smokers die from a smoking related illness. Access to cheap tobacco allows people to carry on smoking when they would otherwise quit. In the past we have found over 400 pouches in someone's home. This is enough to roll over 25,000 cigarettes which is not exactly personal use.

"Anyone who thinks that selling a few dodgy pouches is harmless is utterly deluding themselves. Smoking is one of the biggest health problems Plymouth faces and as a Council we are determined to do all we can to encourage people in Plymouth to lead a healthy life as possible."

Anyone with information about illegal tobacco can anonymously phone Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111