Illegal tobacco worth £12.5k seized from Gloucester flat

Illegal tobacco worth more than £12,000 has been seized from a flat in Gloucester city centre.

Gloucestershire Police carried out a search at the property on 18 October after receiving complaints from the community about the sale of illegal tobacco.

They found that the tobacco was being stored in a nearby flat and uncovered 2,284 packs of illegal cigarettes and 117 pouches of illegal hand rolling tobacco, worth a total of £12,500. Officers also seized a quantity of cash.

It was part of a joint operation by police and Gloucestershire County Council.

Councillor Dave Norman, cabinet member for trading standards at the council, said: “Illegal tobacco harms the trade of legitimate suppliers and poses a risk to public health.

"This seizure shows that our trading standards team will work tirelessly to keep these harmful products off the streets and we are grateful to the community for information they pass to us.

“I would like to thank our Gloucestershire Constabulary colleagues for their help in this investigation and we will continue to work closely together to ensure these is no hiding place for anyone trying to sell illegal tobacco.”