06 April 2023 , 19:06
627
0
Sniffer dogs Bran and Yoyo are helping beat the trade in illegal tobacco products as part of a multi-agency crackdown.
The cocker spaniels helped find a quarter of a million cigarettes and 1,500 pouches of tobacco worth an estimated £76,000 hidden in false walls and secret tunnels in shop basements.
False walls in adjoining flats also contained illegal vapes and tobacco pouches.
Illicit tobacco products such as these are unregulated and could therefore contain ingredients that are more harmful than legal tobacco products.
Bran and Yoyo joined police raids in Gravesend, Kent, this week as part of a joint operation by Kent Police, Gravesham Council, Kent Trading Standards, HMRC and the Home Office Immigration Enforcement.
Girl, 4, mauled to death in dog attack pictured as neighbours hear mum's screams
Bran and Yoyo with the stash (Kent Police / SWNS)Bran soon indicated he smelled tobacco behind tiling in a basement. Officers removed a false panel and found a tunnel to the basement of the adjoining shop.
In the tunnel they found over 148,000 cigarettes and 1,315 pouches of tobacco – the team’s largest single seizure.
In another shop, officers found a “chute” behind a counter and followed it up to a flat above the shop. Yoyo indicated there was tobacco inside. Officers forced entry and found 58,900 cigarettes and 135 pouches of tobacco in three false walls.
Bran in the secret tunnel (Kent Police / SWNS)Insp James Beautridge of North Kent’s Community Safety Unit said: “[It] shows the lengths to which some shop owners will go in order to hide these products and avoid detection.”
Illegal vapes were also seized and fines issued for immigration offences. Tano Grima of South East Immigration Enforcement added: “These people are not only breaking the law but may also be vulnerable to exploitation.”