Detection dogs sniff out 20,000 counterfeit cigarettes

Our Trading Standards officers, accompanied by Police Scotland and specialist tobacco detection dogs, seized more than 20,000 illicit cigarettes during a recent operation.

Enforcement visits were made to two shops in the Musselburgh and Tranent areas as part of the crackdown.

Officers seized more than 20,000 cigarettes along with around 100 packs of hand rolling tobacco believed to be intended for illegal sale.

The visits formed part of Operation CECE Scotland, a UK-wide initiative involving Trading Standards services and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) aimed at tackling the sale of illicit tobacco products at retail level.

The specially trained tobacco detection dogs, Boo and Rosie (pictured below) played a key role in locating hidden tobacco products during the inspections.

Illicit tobacco can take various forms, including counterfeit versions of well-known brands, genuine tobacco products smuggled into the UK without the payment of duty and so-called "cheap whites" which are products manufactured for the black market and illegally imported into the country.

All cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco legally sold in the UK must be supplied in standardised packaging featuring both written and pictorial health warnings, with all packaging text appearing in English.

Trading Standards officers can report criminal offences to the Procurator Fiscal for prosecution. Where tobacco products are found not to comply with relevant legislation, evidence may be referred to HMRC which can consider the imposition of a civil penalty. For a first breach, the maximum civil sanction available is £10,000.