Midlothian Trading Standards seize goods under Operation CeCe

Midlothian Council Trading Standards officers recently seized a haul of suspected counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco as part of Operation CeCe Scotland.

Stock aerial shot of Midlothian, by Bob Smith.

This is a joint initiative between Scottish Trading Standards departments and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to tackle the illegal tobacco trade at retail level.

Three shops were visited in Midlothian with a tobacco detection dog following intelligence of counterfeit cigarettes.

In total 1680 cigarettes and 32 packs of suspect tobacco were seized from one shop.

HMRC encourages anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco to report it online or call the Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.

To contact Midlothian Trading Standards, you can email [email protected] or call 0131 271 3549.