More than £37,000 of illegal tobacco, vapes and cash was seized by Devon County Council Trading Standards officers during a recent operation.

The five-week operation during January and February saw officers from the Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service, supported by Devon and Cornwall Police, look for illegal tobacco.

They visited 14 shops across the region including in Kingsbridge.

They used detection dogs to look for hidden stashes.

All but one of the 14 shops were found to be selling illegal products.

Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills with resposibility for Trading standards said:

“We are finding increasingly elaborate methods to hide illegal tobacco but no matter where it’s hidden on the premises our detection dogs can find it.

“And for those who think illegal tobacco is a victimless crime think again.

“We know that the availability of cheap, illegal tobacco at pocket money prices encourages children to start smoking and the proceeds are often used to fund other criminal activities.”

Alex Fry, Operations Manager for our Trading Standards Service said:

“The removal of illegal tobacco and vapes from the marketplace is a high priority for us and we have conducted a number of intelligence-led operations over the last few weeks.

“The service uses detection dogs so regardless of where it is hidden, in a storage container or retail premises, the dogs have the ability to sniff out even small quantities of tobacco and vapes.

“The sale of counterfeit and illicit tobacco and illegal vapes is big business and those shops involved can undercut other local general stores who are trying to operate legally during difficult economic conditions.”

Investigations into those premises found selling the items are ongoing.

To report concerns of counterfeit or other illegal products, contact Trading Standards by e-mail at: [email protected] or phone 01392 383000.