The raids were carried out by police and trading standards and Revenue and Customs officials in the Ramshill Road area.

Almost 30,000 cigarettes and 21kg of loose tobacco were seized in the first raid on the Eastern Gate Polish grocers' shop and at an upstairs flat in Ramshill Road when officers used a battering ram.

The cigarettes included well-known brands such as Marlboro but counterfeit.

It took almost two hours to collect and document the seized items.
Officers searched other properties in the area and a second haul, involving around 100,000 cigarettes and a small amount of tobacco, were found in a nearby lock-up garage.

A few hours later, they raided a house in Filey Road where they seized another 80,000 cigarettes, making 210,000 in total.

Insp Leo Suret, the tasking and co-ordinating inspector for the eastern area, said: "This is a very positive result.

"It has been down to good intelligence and the Safer Neighbourhoods Team which had responded to complaints from the public."

John Kinghorn, Revenue and Customs head of detection for the north of England, said: "This large seizure shows that we are working closely with the police and trading standards to pursue those engaged in illegal activities.

"Anyone who thinks they are getting a bargain buying cheap cigarettes or tobacco might not realise that this illegal trade damages honest businesses in the area, costs billions in lost revenue and lines the pockets of criminals instead of funding public services.

"Many smokers think they are getting a good deal but these cigarettes are usually cheap because they are not the genuine article. Counterfeit cigarettes are even worse for your health than normal cigarettes and it is not easy to tell the difference between a genuine cigarette and a counterfeit cigarette, until it is too late."

He added anyone tempted to buy cheap smuggled cigarettes should remember that they could be funding organized crime. Anyone with information on smuggled goods is advised to contact a confidential hotline on 0800 595000.

Yesterday's warrant was part of Operation Maximum Impact – a month-long crime-fighting initiative to reduce crime by 18 per cent.

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