TOBACCO RAIDS SUCCESS
More than 1.4 million counterfeit and illicit cigarettes have been seized by specialist tobacco sniffer dogs in a campaign across 14 local trading standard areas across Central England. The campaign, which also included 515 kg of hand rolling tobacco and 1.7 tons of niche tobacco, was run by council teams with the Central England Trading Standards Authorities (CEnTSA).
The goods were seized in the last financial year (2015/2016) with a loss of duty to the government around £30,000.
The total retail value of the illegal goods estimated to be worth in excess of £1 million. All offending businesses are subjected to a criminal investigation, with some traders already successfully prosecuted. One trader was forced to pay £6,000, another trader was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months while another was given a 12 month community order and required to carry out 180-hours of unpaid work. In addition, some shops had their alcohol licences suspended or revoked for dealing with counterfeit and illicit tobacco products. Although all tobacco is harmful, illicit tobacco post a more serious risk to health and safety as there is often no control on their content or quality. Some illicit tobacco brands failed to comply with safety standard, which required a lit cigarette to be able to self-extinguish when not being actively smoked.
The purpose of this is to reduce unintended fires, a common cause of death in smokers Councillor Preet Gill, cabinet member for Public Health and Protection,said: "Far from being a victimless crime, illegal tobacco trade creates a cheap source for children and young people and encourages adults to continue smoking by taking away the cost motivation to quit.
It also costs taxpayers £2 billion per year in lost revenue, money that could have gone to local communities, schools and the NHS.’’ Bob Charnley, chairman of CEnTSA and Sandwell trading standards manager, said: ‘‘It has been a successful year in the fight against counterfeit and illicit tobacco. This is down to the effective intelligence sharing and cross-border working between trading standards teams across the region.’’ Mr Charnley added: “Retailers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach, adapting their methods in order to avoid detection.
Some businesses had gone to great lengths to conceal the illegal tobacco such as in secret compartments, fake floor boards, false walls, ovens and fridges. You may hide it, but we will find it.’’ Anyone being offered cheap tobacco or any other types of illicit goods should report it to trading standards by calling the CEnTSA’s confidential fakes hotline on 0300 303 2636 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.