Trading standards seize record amount of illegal cigarettes and tobacco
More than £60,000 worth of illegal cigarettes and roll-up tobacco was seized in a record year for trading standards officers in Staffordshire.
The county council's team uncovered more than 110,000 cigarettes and almost 30kg of tobacco was intercepted over the last year.
It comes as the Express & Star this week exposed the underworld tobacco trade, with 25 shops found selling counterfeit and illegal cigarettes.
The tobacco products can contain heavy metals, cyanide, plastic and rat droppings among other dangerous ingredients.
Last August, nearly 20,000 cigarettes were seized from 13 shops.
They seized a total of 19,850 cigarettes and 7.75kg of tobacco which would have been sold off at £14,000 if legitimate.
One store was targeted in Stafford, where 4,600 cigarettes and 3kg of tobacco were seized.
The cigarettes were a mix of foreign and counterfeit.
Trading standards bosses today revealed over last year they uncovered 118,300 illegal cigarettes and 28.5kg of illegal tobacco.
The county council's cabinet member responsible for trading standards, Councillor Gill Heath said: "The availability of illegal tobacco and alcohol in Staffordshire is no greater than anywhere else but does present a significant problem.
"In the UK, it is estimated that about one in 10 of all cigarettes and half of all hand-rolling tobacco are not duty paid.
"The illegal trade in tobacco has strong links to organised crime and illicit tobacco has a devastating effect on health, more so than smoking legitimate cigarettes.
"The county council has worked hard to combat the sale of illicit alcohol and tobacco in recent years."
She said just last week, a shop owner in Burton was sent to prison for selling illegal cigarettes.
Councillor Heath said: "We have received a great deal of information from local people on shops and individuals suspected of selling illicit tobacco products which plays a big part in our operations.
"We will continue to target our resources where we know the sale of illegal and sometimes dangerous tobacco and alcohol is going on to ensure people in Staffordshire communities remain safe and our young people are not exposed to dangerous life threatening products."
