12,500 illegal cigarettes seized from shops in Weymouth & North Dorset
Dorset Police have carried out a joint operation with Trading Standards and HMRC to find illegal tobacco being sold 'under the counter'
12,500 illegal cigarettes have been seized from two shops in Weymouth and one in North Dorset.
37 pouches of hand rolling tobacco were also taken by police in a joint operation with HMRC and Trading Standards, to find illegal stock being sold under the counter.
The seized cigarettes and tobacco included counterfeit products and illegally imported products without warning labelling and with no duty paid.
A spokesperson for Weymouth & Portland Police said:
"The teams carried out inspections using a Trading Standards search trained dog. Illegal stock that was sold was not out on display but being sold ‘under the counter’.
"At one location tobacco was found hidden within a wall after the search trained dogs indicated on the area."