Crime Solicitors

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Trading Standards team has taken part in a joint operation with Essex Police in a raid on two premises where illegal tobacco was uncovered.

On Wednesday 24 May, Trading Standards officers and the police seized a total of 15,000 illicit cigarettes and 5kg of illegal tobacco from two premises on Southchurch Road and Sutton Road in Southend-on-Sea.

Trading Standards officers and Essex Police were assisted by a specialist sniffer dog unit in carrying out the unannounced checks, as part of a crackdown on illegally imported and fake tobacco products being sold in the borough.

The council said that the illegal consignments would be destroyed and each of the businesses now faces legal action.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Director for Public Protection, Carl Robinson, said:

“This is the fifth operation in eight months and altogether nearly 30,000 cigarettes and 17.5kg of rolling tobacco have been seized.

“Together with Essex Police, we are sending out a very clear message to anyone selling illegal cigarettes that they will be caught and met with severe repercussions.

“While some people view selling under-the-counter cigarettes as a victimless crime, we have previously found counterfeit cigarettes containing asbestos and human excrement, posing a huge risk to anyone smoking them.

“What’s more, the production and sale of counterfeit cigarettes is linked to large-scale organised crime, diverting £3 billion in unpaid duty away from public services, such as the NHS – and often into the pockets of crime bosses.”

The council added that Trading Standards frequently have to use trained tobacco search dogs to hunt for the tobacco, because the hiding places cannot be seen by the naked eye – only the dogs’ keen sense of smell can pinpoint the hidden goods.

The Police, Customs and Excise and Immigration Officers often attend these visits because other criminality can also be discovered during these shop searches, such as illegal immigrants found working inside the shops and vehicles being used which have no insurance or tax.

Many of the seizures have led, or will lead to, formal enforcement action including prosecution or review of the premises licence.

Counterfeit cigarettes are also usually manufactured without the self-extinguishing properties of genuine cigarettes – as a consequence, they pose a greater fire risk and in some cases have been linked to deaths.

Duncan Lewis Criminal Lawyers

Duncan Lewis Criminal Lawyers can advise at any stage of a public protection offence, including charges involving selling counterfeit goods, selling illicit alcohol or tobacco products, weights and measures issues, mislabelling offences, food hygiene breaches, selling restricted items to minors, breaches of health and safety regulations – and selling or offering for sale produce which fails to meet minimum quality standards.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and in most major cities – and Duncan Lewis can advise on police raids and premises inspections by Trading Standards or local authority fraud teams.

For expert legal advice on public protection offences, call Duncan Lewis criminal lawyers on 0333 772 0409.