Edinburgh Trading Standards and Police Scotland seize £26,000 of Illegal tobacco in Capital

Almost £26,000 worth of illegal tobacco has been taken off shelves in Edinburgh by the city council’s Trading Standards team and Police Scotland.

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Recent action in the Capital as part of Operation CeCe – a UK-wide operation targeting illicit tobacco, which is either duty-evaded, counterfeit or both – included the seizure of 22,600 cigarettes and 10Kg of hand-rolling tobacco, which represented evaded duty of over £10,600 defrauded from public funds.

Acting upon intelligence received, officers from Trading Standards, in partnership with police, attended a number of premises in the Leith Walk area of the city, along with tobacco detection dog Boo.

Transport and environment convener Councillor Scott Arthur said: “These recoveries are a fantastic result for our Trading Standards team who work hard to identify and tackle unsafe and illegal products. Stopping such products reaching consumers in Edinburgh and beyond is a testament to their proactive strategy and dedication.

“I am, of course, concerned that this market exists within Edinburgh. These products have not had the required duty paid on them, but also do not comply with the plain packaging, warning requirements and, where they are counterfeit, breach trade marks legislation.

"No tobacco product is safe, but the recovered goods may not comply with the requirements designed to ensure that cigarettes are self-extinguishing to prevent domestic fires.”

He said illicit and counterfeit tobacco often ended up in the hands of young people and tackling it was a key part of Edinburgh’s contribution to the Scottish Government’s aim of achieving a smoke-free generation by 2034.

Tobacco detection dog Boo with recovered illegal tobacco.

"We are committed to tackling the supply of illicit tobacco, and will work with our partners in Police Scotland and HMRC wherever possible to disrupt its supply. Legitimate retail sale of tobacco is also disadvantaged where illicit supply routes exist, and we would encourage any legitimate business owners to come forward with any information.”