Massive £25,000 haul of illegal cigarettes found by specialist search dog
A huge haul of illegal cigarette worth more than £25,000 has been seized from businesses in the town of Bletchley, all thanks to a specialist search dog called Griff.
A joint operation into “multiple businesses” was launched by Milton Keynes City Council Trading Standards, the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) and Thames Valley Police.
A tobacco detection dog called Griff, used as part of the investigation located a sophisticated hidden compartment within a purpose-built concrete wall designed to hide the illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. More than 1,300 packs of illegal cigarettes (equating to over 26,000 individual cigarettes) were discovered, along with a quantity of illegal hand rolling tobacco, illegal shisha and vapes.
One business, Bletchley Express, has now been issued with a Closure Order by Milton Keynes Magistrates due to its persistent sale of illegal tobacco and vapes following previous visits and seizures by Milton Keynes Trading Standards.
The Closure Order prevents access to the premises for three months – effectively stopping the business from trading.
Read more here: https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/news/2023/more-1300-illegal-cigarettes-seized-bletchley
Formed in 2009, B.W.Y CANINE is a leading supplier of specialist detection dogs for UK and international clients. B.W.Y CANINE provides a range of sniffer dog services to a very diverse range of clients for detecting Drugs, Explosives, Firearms and Counterfeit Tobacco. Our clients include Police Services, Trading Standards, Private Companies, NHS Trusts, Oil Refineries and the 3rd largest Port Authority in the UK.
