Significant quantities of illegal tobacco products have been seized by our Trading Standards Officers and Police Scotland.
Five premises across North Lanarkshire were visited in a coordinated day of action, as part of Operation CeCe.
During the operation, officers seized 1,366 packets of cigarettes, amounting to 27,320 illicit cigarettes, and 47 packs of hand-rolling tobacco, totalling 2.35 kilograms.
“The illicit tobacco trade undermines legitimate businesses and supports organised crime, so a successful operation like this disrupts the supply chain and removes unsafe products from our communities,” said Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee.
“Illicit tobacco, which often contains harmful materials, is sold at reduced prices which encourages more people to smoke. Our enforcement action against the criminals who supply them, helps protect local communities.”
Operation CeCe a joint initiative between Scottish trading standards services and HMRC to tackle the illegal tobacco trade at retail level.