ILLICIT tobacco has been seized in raids across Bradford and Calderdale, thanks to public tip-offs.
During the past month, officers from trading standards gathered almost 100,000 cigarettes and 37kg of hand-rolling tobacco, worth more than £40,000, from retailers in operations that also targeted premises in Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.
The seizures included counterfeit, non-duty paid and incorrectly-labelled cigarettes and tobacco. Since April 2014, West Yorkshire Trading Standards has seized almost 700,000 cigarettes and 300kg of hand-rolling tobacco.
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Councillor Val Slater, chairman of the West Yorkshire trading standards committee, said: “Although a lot has been achieved, illegal tobacco is still a problem. While all smoking kills, illegal tobacco is a danger to health, particularly to young people, as it is sold at pocket money prices, making it easy for children to start.”
David Lodge, head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: “We are committed to this fight against cheap and illicit tobacco.”
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