Officers seize illegal cigarettes from Gravesend shop
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Officers from Gravesend’s Community Policing Team have seized more than 9,000 illegal cigarettes which were found inside a shop in the town.
The patrol attended the shop in Milton Road at around 2.30pm on 21 December 2020.
Upon attending the shop it was found to be empty and while searching inside officers found more than 9,000 illegal cigarettes being stored.
Chief Inspector Shona Lowndes of the north Kent Community Safety Unit said: ‘We work tirelessly to ensure any businesses found profiting from the sale of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products are dealt with robustly.
‘Offending like this is not a harmless crime and opportunistic shopkeepers who sell these items also gain an unfair advantage over law abiding businesses which can have a detrimental impact on the livelihoods of shop holders acting legitimately.
‘We continue to work with partner agencies, such as Trading Standards, to ensure any business found operating in this way is stopped from doing so, and we will continue to clamp down on businesses which are involved in this type of offending’.
The untaxed tobacco was removed from the shop and officers are continuing to make enquiries in connection with the investigation.
The untaxed tobacco was removed from the shop and officers are continuing to make enquiries in connection with the investigation.