SOME 15,000 cigarettes and more than 9kg in rolling tobacco have been seized in shop raids across Warwickshire.
Trading Standards, Warwickshire Police and Border Force teamed up to find counterfeit and non-duty paid cigarettes and tobacco hidden in shops and cars in Leamington, Stratford, Rugby, Nuneaton and Atherstone.
Sniffer dogs hunted down the items.
Warwickshire County Council spokesman for community safety, Coun Andy Crump said: “The sellers of cheap illegal cigarettes don’t care who they sell to, making it easier for children and young people to obtain cigarettes and get hooked on smoking and making it harder for adults to quit.
“Cheap illegal tobacco also threatens the livelihoods of honest genuine businesses and robs the taxpayer of money that could be spent on schools and hospitals.”
Investigations are ongoing.
