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Suspected illegal tobacco seized in shop raid

Matthew LockwoodBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Central Bedfordshire Council A close up of Rookie, a brown-and-white cocker spaniel detection dog sitting on a carpeted floor inside what appears to be a storage area. The dog is wearing a high-visibility working harness and a bright orange collar, indicating it is likely a trained detection or working dog. The dog is seated facing the camera, with its mouth open. Central Bedfordshire Council
Cocker spaniel Rookie, a tobacco detection dog, was brought in to help with a police and trading standards raid

More than 3,000 illicit cigarettes have been discovered during a raid of a convenience store.

Central Bedfordshire Council's trading standards said 3,160 cigarettes and 195 packets of hand-rolling tobacco - worth more than £70,000, were found at The Dunstable Local Grocery, on High Street North, on Thursday.

Councillor Liz Childs, executive member for public protection, said there had been a focus on the town for the "scale and persistence" of illegal tobacco and vape sales.

"Through intelligence-led operations, business closures and the seizure of illegal products, we are making it clear that this behaviour will not be tolerated," she said.

Officials worked with officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit to tackle "repeat offending and sophisticated concealments".

A detection dog named Rookie took part in the raid.

He had previously helped uncover hundreds of suspected illicit items with an estimated street value of about £16,000 at Cloudy Vape Ltd on High Street in Leighton Buzzard.

In June, trading standards officers also said Mega Romanska, on High Street South in Dunstable, was ordered to close for three months after selling illegal tobacco and vaping products.

Mattthew Lockwood/BBC The frontage of the Corner Shop in Dunstable. A large black shop sign above the premises displays "CORNER SHOP" in bold red-and-white lettering, with a shopping trolley icon incorporated into the sign. The building is part of a terrace of older commercial properties, with residential windows visible on the upper floor. Mattthew Lockwood/BBC
The Corner Shop continued to sell illicit tobacco despite being the subject of a previous investigation by Central Bedfordshire Council's Trading Standards team

Trading standards officers said the stock stored at The Dunstable Local Grocery was being sold through the Corner Shop "via a shared rear passageway".

A search warrant was executed after 11 test purchases between November last year and October found that the Corner Shop was selling illicit tobacco.

Officials said the shop was previously subject to a three-month closure order after illegal cigarettes and £3,500 in cash were seized, but it reopened in February.

A further three-month closure order was granted by Luton Magistrates' Court on Friday.

The Dunstable Local Grocery had been dissolved and closed for more than 3 months before the latest enforcement action was taken.

Childs said: "We remain committed to protecting residents, supporting honest local businesses and disrupting the criminal networks that seek to operate in our town centres."

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