A stash of fake tobacco has been seized in London’s East End by police, customs officers and council officials using a sniffer dog called Bradley.
They carried out a raid on a corner shop where Bradley managed to sniff out a hoard of 3,120 illicit cigarettes, 11 packs of illegal rolling tobacco and 183 Shisha tobacco products.
The Wagtail canine was used in a raid led Tower Hamlets Trading Standards to uncover hidden locations of illicit products that could otherwise be missed in a regular search without a sniffer dog.
The dodgy goods were stacked behind the counter at a normal neighbourhood general store.
None of the tobacco seized had displayed health warnings required under the 1987 Consumer Protection Act—nor had Excise duty been paid contrary to Customs regulations.
Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs said after the raid: “We’ll continue working with sniffer dogs and hope this is a deterrent to those who feel they can operate above the law.”
The raid was part of a London-wide operation in which tobacco worth £21,000 on the street was confiscated in the East End alone.
Illicit tobacco is usually found in half the premises Trading Standards officers visit, the local authority revealed.
Dog handlers from the Wagtail UK organisation carry out daily searches with their knowledge of creative ways of hiding illicit products.
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