Illegal tobacco seized from Bensham shops
More than 17,000 illegal cigarettes and over 5kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco were seized from two shops in Bensham this week.
Officers from Gateshead Council Trading Standards and Northumbria Police uncovered the haul of illegal tobacco with the help of a highly trained tobacco sniffer dog, during intelligence-led daytime raids.
The seizures came from businesses trading as Ali Baba on Coatsworth Road, and Whitehall Corner Shop on Rawling Road.
Investigations into the seizures are continuing and Trading Standards have confirmed that more action is likely.
Councillor Linda Green, Cabinet Member for Communities and Volunteering - Gateshead Council says these latest raids should act as a warning to other retailers engaged in criminal activity.
"Gateshead Council works closely with Northumbria Police to tackle the criminality and anti-social behaviour that sellers of illegal tobacco inevitably bring to the area.
These latest raids demonstrate that we will take robust action wherever we identify wrong-doing and criminal behaviour, and these and other shops can expect to continue to be targeted by our officers."
The searches took place as part of Operation CeCe, a national Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC to tackle illegal tobacco.
Alice Wiseman, Gateshead's Director of Public Health said: "In Gateshead, tobacco use kills over 500 people every year. That's one person every 17 hours. The availability of illegal tobacco makes it even more difficult to tackle this issue, as the lack of regulation and cheap prices make it harder for people to quit.
Illegal sellers also make tobacco more accessible to children, deliberately creating addictions at an early age. The vast majority of adult smokers started smoking during childhood and adolescence and wish they could stop.
And unfortunately, many of the people who buy these products just see it as a way to save money and often don't realise that they could be supporting serious organised crime. It's far from a victimless crime and taking illegal tobacco off our streets helps protect people in many different ways."
If you'd like to share some information and help keep illegal tobacco out of your community, you can report it on the Illegal Tobacco Hotline: 0300 999 0000. It's quick, easy and completely anonymous.
More than 17,000 illegal cigarettes and over 5kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco were seized from two shops in Bensham this week.
Officers from Gateshead Council Trading Standards and Northumbria Police uncovered the haul of illegal tobacco with the help of a highly trained tobacco sniffer dog, during intelligence-led daytime raids.
The seizures came from businesses trading as Ali Baba on Coatsworth Road, and Whitehall Corner Shop on Rawling Road.
Investigations into the seizures are continuing and Trading Standards have confirmed that more action is likely.
Councillor Linda Green, Cabinet Member for Communities and Volunteering - Gateshead Council says these latest raids should act as a warning to other retailers engaged in criminal activity.
"Gateshead Council works closely with Northumbria Police to tackle the criminality and anti-social behaviour that sellers of illegal tobacco inevitably bring to the area.
These latest raids demonstrate that we will take robust action wherever we identify wrong-doing and criminal behaviour, and these and other shops can expect to continue to be targeted by our officers."
The searches took place as part of Operation CeCe, a national Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC to tackle illegal tobacco.
Alice Wiseman, Gateshead's Director of Public Health said: "In Gateshead, tobacco use kills over 500 people every year. That's one person every 17 hours. The availability of illegal tobacco makes it even more difficult to tackle this issue, as the lack of regulation and cheap prices make it harder for people to quit.
Illegal sellers also make tobacco more accessible to children, deliberately creating addictions at an early age. The vast majority of adult smokers started smoking during childhood and adolescence and wish they could stop.
And unfortunately, many of the people who buy these products just see it as a way to save money and often don't realise that they could be supporting serious organised crime. It's far from a victimless crime and taking illegal tobacco off our streets helps protect people in many different ways."
If you'd like to share some information and help keep illegal tobacco out of your community, you can report it on the Illegal Tobacco Hotline: 0300 999 0000. It's quick, easy and completely anonymous.
