UNDERCOVER officers from Hampshire County Council have used controversial snooping powers 42 times over the past two years.
Trading standards wanted to check for evidence of car-clocking, fly-tipping, fake goods and shops suspected of selling cigarettes or alcohol to the under-18s.
In one case they were inquiring into disposal of dead farm animals.
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 was originally intended to combat terrorism and serious crime.
But it gives councils the right to place residents and businesses under surveillance, trace telephone and email accounts and even send staff on covert missions.