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Sniffer dog helps find illegal tobacco and vapes

Alex McIntyre
BBC News, West Midlands
Staffordshire County Council A dog with dark brown fur on its head and a mainly white body looks at the camera. It is sat behind a wooden box which contains wrapped boxes with brands on them in various colours. The box looks to have been ripped from the wall behind the dog as there is a gaping opening behind it.Staffordshire County Council
The raids in Staffordshire saw some of the illegal products turn up hidden behind a storage heater

More than £20,000-worth of illegal cigarettes, vapes and rolling tobacco have been seized after reports of sales to youngsters.

Three shops were raided in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, after the sales to children as young as 12, the city council said.

The raids saw the seizure of 1,084 packets of cigarettes, more than 1,500 vapes and 165 pouches of rolling tobacco.

The retail value was estimated at more than £20,000 with an extra £12,000 in unpaid duty, a council spokesperson said.

Several people without the right to work in the UK and other immigration issues also had their cases passed to the Home Office.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council A shelving unit in a store packed with vapes and cigarettes. They range inc colours and are stacked across grey, metal shelves.Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Police seized illegal cigarettes and vapes worth more than £20,000 in Stoke-on-Trent

Meanwhile an estimated £15,500 of illegal tobacco products were also seized from three shops in Cannock and Hednesford, Staffordshire, on 6 March.

Officers found 19,460 cigarettes, 194 vapes and 10.25kg (22ibs) of rolling tobacco during the raids.

Staffordshire County Council Victoria Wilson looks into the camera. She wears rimless glasses and has dark brown hair to her shoulders. She wears a dark jacket over a white top and stands in a thoroughfare between buildings which are blurred behind her.Staffordshire County Council
Councillor Victoria Wilson said the discovery of the illegal products in Staffordshire was a "successful result"

In one case, the items were found by sniffer dogs hidden in wooden box behind a storage heater and inside a table.

Councillor Victoria Wilson said it was "great to see another successful result".

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