Two questioned after £40,000 of illegal cigarettes seized in Chesterfield

The cigarettes were taken from the property during an operation carried out by officers from the house in the Brimmington area

Officers searching the property in the Brimington area on Thursday November 15 found 42,420 cigarettes and 35.5kg (710 pouches) of tobacco. About £1,000 cash was also seized.

A 67 year old man and a 55 year old woman have been questioned in relation to the goods by trading standards officials, who are continuing with the investigation.

The operation was carried out by local Safer Neighbourhood policing teams and Derbyshire County Council trading standards officers.

Cabinet member for health and communities, Councillor Carol Hart, said: “Illegal cigarettes and tobacco risk people’s health and threaten the livelihood of honest businesses and we will continue to work with the police to bring people who sell it to justice.

“This is another successful operation for our trading standards team which demonstrates our clear message to traders who sell illegal tobacco – we will not tolerate it.”

Safer Neighbourhood Team Sergeant Matt Adams said: “We are grateful for the support of our local communities and our team will continue to work with Derbyshire County Council’s trading standards team to investigate and act on information passed to us about counterfeit and illegal products to ensure we keep consumers safe and stand up for legitimate local traders.”

Anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco should contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline 03454 04 05 06 and tell them you want to report a trader to Trading Standards. You can also fill in an online form, or find out more information, on www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

To contact your local Safer Neighbourhood policing team call 101, or send them a message online through the My Local Police pages of the website, by clicking here.