Over a million cigarettes seized in police raids

Nearly 1.5 million cigarettes have been seized in in raids by Medway Council's Trading Standards and Public Protection Officers.

Council officers coordinated a multi-agency operation involving a specialist sniffer dog team and Kent Police to investigate the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes.

Overall, 1,469,640 cigarettes, 148.5kg of hand rolling tobacco and 1,130 vapes were seized, coming to an estimated street value of £650K during the raids on Thursday and Friday, the council said.

Officers targeted a range of shops and a self-storage premises, where tobacco with an estimated value of £600K was found in five storage lockers.

Insp Allen Searle, from Medway's Community Safety Unit, said: "This joint operation with Trading Standards is part of our ongoing work to disrupt the illegal tobacco trade, which is often linked to wider criminality.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners to identify those involved and take robust action to ensure these offences are stamped out in our communities."

Alex Paterson, Medway Council's portfolio holder covering enforcement, said: "When tobacco is smuggled into the country, it means no duty or tax has been paid – that is tax which funds public services we all rely on.

"This seizure sends a message loud and clear that we will not tolerate illegal trading in Medway, and we will take firm and decisive action to tackle those who are undermining legitimate hard-working businesses."

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