By ‘Largest ever’ haul of illicit cigarettes seized from local property
Officers from North East Lincolnshire Council’s Trading Standards department have seized a haul of illicit cigarettes and tobacco with an approximate legitimate value of more than £210,000 and a street value of approximately £97,000.
The haul, which was found in a residential property in Healing, has been labelled as the largest ever recovered by the department.
A search warrant was executed on the morning of Sunday 21 November.
Officers were responding to information they had received from the public.
As a result of the search, approximately 375,000 illicit cigarettes and 14.5 kilos of illicit tobacco were seized.
None of the products found conformed to the Reduced Ignition Propensity regulations.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said: “This is the largest illicit cigarette haul our Trading Standards officers have seized and I’d like to thank them for continuing to crackdown on the issue of illicit cigarettes and tobacco.
“These products do not meet safety standards and are putting lives at risk. We know illicit and fake cigarettes do not comply with the Reduced Ignition Propensity requirements and won’t self-extinguish, so are likely to start a fire.
“When you buy these products, you could be putting your own health at risk. Not only has no duty been paid on them but they’ve not been tested to ensure they’re safe.”
Neighbourhood Beat Officer PC Phil Eayres added: “Whilst this type of offending just looks like us taking cheap cigarettes off the streets, we are doing this to protect you.
“When you buy these products, you could be putting your own health at risk as these products are not tested to see what they contain.
“Counterfeit or illicit tobacco can contain all kinds of harmful substances; from brick dust to rat poison.
“Offending of this nature has also been linked to funding organised crime gangs and modern slavery operations in the past.
“We will seek every avenue to disrupt these types of crimes, to protect the public.”
The occupants of the property are scheduled to be interviewed by Humberside Police at a later date.
