Thousands of pounds of illegal cigarettes and tobacco have been confiscated in a crackdown on shops in Glasgow.
Glasgow City Council carried out the raids with the help of Boo, a police dog specially trained to sniff out tobacco, along with police officers, HMRC and a team of Trade Standards.
The unit tracked down 9,000 illegal cigarettes and 3.5 kg of hand tobacco after conducting unannounced searches of four buildings across the city earlier this week.
(Photo: Glasgow City Council)
Counterfeit cigarettes and unpaid/contraband cigarettes have been found to contain higher levels of toxic ingredients such as tar and nicotine that can put lives at risk.
Staff and management in the four buildings can now be subject to a criminal investigation.
Glasgow City Council tweeted: “Boo the Detection Dog has sniffed fake tobacco in 4 city stores during a joint operation by our Trade Standards team, PoliceScotland, HMRC & Tweet embed. Bo discovered 9,000 illicit cigarettes and 3.5 kilograms of handmade tobacco. Good dog!”
