More than 10,000 contraband cigarettes seized

Ozzy with public protection officer Phil Mykytiuk

More than 10,000 illicit cigarettes have been seized in the first three months of this year.

Public protection and police officers searched six premises across the borough, bringing in a total haul of 10,340 illicit cigarettes and 7.45kg of hand rolling tobacco, with Black Labrador Ozzy and Springer Collier Bertie joining them on some of the visits.

The specially trained dogs helped the team search out increasingly hard to find hiding places, with the animals detecting dodgy cigarettes behind false walls and mirrors, in beer crates and behind kickboards under display shelves.

Gary Singleton, Public Protection Officer from Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Retailers who sell illicit tobacco are using increasingly sophisticated methods to try and stop us locating it.

The dogs’ very keen sense of smell means they can pick up things that we might miss, so their help is invaluable.

“By using funding from public health and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) we’ve been able to take the dogs out four times in the last year and they’ve helped us to seize 61,060 illicit cigarettes and 43kg of hand rolling tobacco in that time.”

Of the premises targeted, five in Rochdale and one in Heywood, two of the businesses are still under investigation and the remainder have received a written warning. All stock seized is destroyed.

The term illicit tobacco applies to cigarettes which are either counterfeit, have not had duty paid on them or don’t have the correct health warnings on the packaging, which are required by law.

The industry has been linked to illegal immigration and organised crime, with shops selling illicit tobacco also often selling illicit alcohol, which can seriously damage people’s health.

Andy Glover, Head of Public Protection at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “During one visit, one of our officers recognised a trader as being someone who also owns a shop in a different borough. This person has now been arrested and an investigation crossing different local authority boundaries across the north-west is now under way.

“Ozzy and Bertie have been a big help to the team, but we couldn’t have done this without the public because many of the visits were a direct result of intelligence we received from them. We’d urge people to keep reporting this issue because the information we’ve received so far has made a huge difference.”