ILLEGAL tobacco worth more than £10,000 has been seized in Southampton.

The city council says police and trading standards officers found the tobacco after making a return visit to shops in Shirley Road.

It follows the seizure of illegal tobacco worth £13,000 at the same location last month.

During the latest raid, which involved the use of sniffer dogs Cooper and YoYo, some of the illegal tobacco was found hidden in a car.

Cllr Dave Shields, cabinet member for safer communities, said: “The people selling illegal tobacco from retail shops here are criminal, organised and persistent.

"Often the criminals store tobacco in cars, to prevent trading standards from finding it in their shops. The dogs can detect this and cars are broken into and the tobacco seized.

"In addition to the illegal sales on Shirley Road, we are receiving an increasing number of complaints alleging that people are touting illegal cigarettes in Bitterne precinct.

"We will investigate these reports, take action if needed and seize any illegal tobacco."

In a message to the landlords of properties where illegal tobacco is sold he added: "You can be liable for the actions of your tenants as you're taking rent which has come from a tenant’s criminal activity on your premises.

"Please report the sale of illegal tobacco on your property to the council so we can work together to stop its sale."

Illegal tobacco tends to take three forms.
“Illicit white” cigarettes are legally mass produced in factories abroad and imported illegally into the UK. No duty is paid and health warnings are usually absent.
Counterfeit cigarettes are manufactured illegally and sold by a party other than the original trademark or copyright holder.
Genuine cigarettes are smuggled into the UK without duty being paid. These can include cigarettes intended for sale in another country.

A city council spokesperson said: "Illegal cigarettes can cost as little as a third of the price of genuine product, but by buying illegal tobacco customers are simply supporting criminals.

"We all know that tobacco is harmful to health, however many of the products that these criminals sell are counterfeit, are of an extremely poor quality and they are obviously tax evaded.

"Such criminals contribute a fraction of what they owe in terms of taxation, but they benefit from what the tax that you pay provides them, and they make it difficult for legitimate local traders to compete with them."