Sniffer dog helps net huge haul of illegal tobacco and 'non-compliant' vapes in Sunderland

A sniffer dog has helped seize a haul of illegal cigarettes from shops in Sunderland.

Ralf, a specially trained tobacco dog, netted a haul of 175 packs of illegal cigarettes and 15 pouches of illegal hand-rolling tobacco in visits to retail premises in Sunderland city centre and the Houghton area, accompanied by a team from trading standards.

The hound also led trading standards officers from Sunderland City Council to 450 'non-compliant' vapes, which were also seized.

These latest seizures were the result of a joint operation with Newcastle Trading Standards and a tobacco search team with eight premises selected for visits on the basis of prior intelligence.

Councillor Claire Rowntree, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Clean Green City at Sunderland City Council, said: "This successful operation is part of the City Council's ongoing drive to identify and disrupt the sale of illegal tobacco.

"Although it might seem like a bargain, illegal tobacco is often linked to organised crime - fuelling human trafficking, the drugs trade and loan sharks, which is the very last thing we want in any of our communities. There's also every chance that it's either smuggled or fake.

"We also know that smoking kills one in two lifetime smokers and that because the sale of illegal cigarettes isn’t generally subject to the usual age checks, they’re as likely to be sold to children, getting them hooked on a lethal addiction, as they are to anyone else.

"Operations like this are really important in helping us to drive illegal tobacco and all the harms that come with it out of our city. But we can only do this with the help of our residents, so I would urge anyone who comes across the sale of illegal tobacco to report it so that we can take action."

Local operations under the National Op CeCe Program help to combat the illegal tobacco trade and build on strong partnership working across multiple agencies.

Lord Michael Bichard, Chair, National Trading Standards, said:  "The trade in illegal tobacco harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.

Having removed 27 million illegal cigarettes, 7,500kg of hand rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade."

To find out more about the sale of illegal tobacco and report it anonymously visit: Illegal tobacco and tobacco products - Sunderland City Council 

In a separate operation, Sunderland Trading Standards and Northumbria Police visited nine shops in the Sunderland area with underage Police Cadets.  Nine shops were visited, and two shops sold a vape.

One also sold a pack of illegal cigarettes.  Investigations into these sales are on-going. 

To find out more about the law regarding underage sales and report it anonymously visit: Underage sales - Sunderland City Council and visit  Illegal vapes/e-cigarettes - Sunderland City Council for more information about illegal vapes.