Conwy,North Wales - £14,000 worth of illegal cigarettes and tobacco recovered after raids in Conwy and Rhyl

Published date: 16 October 2015 | 

Published by: Matt Jones 
Read more articles by Matt Jones Email reporter

RAIDS have uncovered 46,000 illegal cigarettes and rolling tobacco worth more than £14,000. Council bosses have said they will not tolerate the sale of illegal tobacco in Denbighshire after recent raids conducted by Trading Standards and North Wales Police in Rhyl and Conwy county which uncovered the cigarettes along with 48 kg of rolling tobacco. 

Cllr David Smith, Denbighshire’s cabinet lead member for Public Protection, said: “Counterfeit and other illegal tobacco does great harm in the community. Its cheapness and ease of supply can be seen as attractive and it eliminates the price incentive for existing smokers to quit the habit. 

“I’m delighted to see tobacco detection dogs being put to such great use in sniffing out this significant threat to health. Offenders need to know that they will face consequences if they choose to deal in these illegal products. This zero-tolerance approach in Denbighshire will continue.” 

Inspector Sian Williams, District Inspector for the Denbighshire Coastal area said: “We continue to work with our colleagues at Denbighshire County Council and Conwy County Borough Council to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco. 

"We monitor the issue and members of the local Neighbourhood Policing Teams regularly liaise with their colleagues in Trading Standards. We will act on any information received as proven by the previous action taken in the Rhyl area. 

"Public safety is of the utmost importance and we will carry on with our work in an effort to ensure that members of the public are not put at risk from illegal goods.” 

For more stories see - http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/153836/-14-000-worth-of-illegal-cigarettes-and-tobacco-recovered-after-raids-in-conwy-and-rhyl.aspx