Police seize illegal cigarettes and tobacco in Kidderminster

Officers from Wyre Forest Safer Neighbourhood Team partnered with Worcestershire Trading Standards during the operation in the Foley Park area  November 15 where the discovery was made.

The operation was in conjunction with Worcestershire Trading Standards (Image: West Mercia Police)

A team of tobacco dogs identified one shipping container suspected to be involved in the distribution and sale of counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco which led to a second container being targeted.

The large storage units contained scores of boxes and bags of illegal products with an estimated retail value of half a million pounds which were removed by Trading Standards officers.

The products were estimated to be worth over half a million pounds (Image: West Mercia Police)

Inspector Lisa Hornberger said: “This joint operation with Trading Standards was a big success uncovering such a large amount of high value counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco following good intelligence work.

“These illegal products would have been destined for black market tobacco sales which are linked to organised crime groups, so taking them off the streets has not only protected the public from these unregulated products but also disrupted a wider network of criminal activity that impacts our local communities.”

The discovery was made by police dogs (Image: West Mercia Police)

The raids form part of Operation Target, which sees police work closely with other forces and partners to tackle serious and organised crime and the harm it causes.

To find out more about Operation Target follow #OpTarget on social media channels.