20,000 illegal cigarettes seized during Gateshead operation

More than 20,000 illegal cigarettes and over 4kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco were seized from shops and cars in Bensham last week.

Gateshead Council Trading Standards and officers from Northumbria Police uncovered the haul of illegal tobacco with the help of a highly trained tobacco sniffer dog in a series of intelligence-led daytime raids.

At one location, officers used force to enter two vehicles which were identified by specialist tobacco detection dogs Yoyo and Scamp, from Pembrokeshire based company B.W.Y Canine Ltd.

Read more here: https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/article/11629/More-illegal-tobacco-seized-from-Gateshead-retailers

 Above: Officers gained access to the vehicle identified by tobacco detection dogs.

Above: Richmond cigarettes which are all fake/counterfeit.