Dogsey

Specialist sniffer dogs have helped track down more than £2,000 worth of illegal tobacco and booze in Coventry. Trading standards officers brought in the two dogs to help with planned raids in the city.

The team raided four city shops and a vehicle – recovering a haul of illicit products including 375 packets of cigarettes, 80 packs of hand-rolling tobacco, 40 packs of shisha tobacco and seven bottles of vodka.

The stash was found with the help of Alfie and Murphy, two specialist sniffer dogs provided by Wagtail UK and funded by the Department of Health, who worked with trading standards officers from Coventry City Council and a police licensing officer.

Coun Phil Townshend, cabinet member for policing, said: “With a little help from our four-legged friends, Alfie and Murphy, our officers and police have been able to remove potentially deadly counterfeit tobacco and alcohol from the streets of Coventry.

“Counterfeit cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol pose a serious risk to health and lives, which is why Trading Standards is working in partnership with the police and Department of Health to remove such products from the shelves of retailers. We will continue to take enforcement action on retailers that stock illicit products.”

The raids in Coventry were carried out as part of Operation Henry, a Trading Standards led crackdown on the supply of illegal tobacco across nine English regions which has been planned in partnership with the Department of Health and the Trading Standards Institute.