Sky the sniffer dog hunts down thousands of illegal vapes and cigarettes during raids

A sniffer dog has hunted down thousands of hidden illegal vapes and cigarettes as part of a crackdown at shops across Preston.

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team joined forces with HM Revenue & Customs and tobacco detection dog, Sky, a working cocker spaniel from Wagtail UK, whose amazing canines are trained to sniff out hidden compartments of tobacco, vapes and money.

She sniffed out illicit goods at all seven city centre premises that they visited and even indicated that there was tobacco behind a false wall, which officers broke open to find the goods inside.

Stashes of cannabis, together with illegal prescription drugs and antibiotics were also seized. Hiding places included hidden compartments and in backyards, while one trader threw suitcases full of tobacco on the roof to try to evade detection.

A total of 1,642 packs of illegal tobacco and 651 non compliant vapes were seized during the operation on October 25 with five of the businesses in the New Hall Lane and Friargate areas. Investigations are now ongoing.

The raids took places just days before huge amounts of counterfeit and illicit vapes, cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco were also seized by officers in one of one of the biggest Trading Standards seizures in Hyndburn to date.

On October 30, the Trading Standards team joined forces again with HMRC and Lancashire Constabulary to seize illegal goods from an empty trade premises next to a shop in Oswaldtwistle.

In total, around 100,000 packs of illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco, and hundreds of illegal non-regulation vapes, with a combined retail value of over £1.6million, were seized. Counterfeit brands included Richmond, Benson and Hedges, and Lambert and Butler, as well as less familiar brands such as Manchester & Sovereign. Packaging used to manufacture counterfeit cigarettes was also seized.

Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing at Lancashire County Council said: "Our Trading Standards team go above and beyond in their pursuit of illegal vapes and cigarettes, with unbelievable outcomes.

"Hiring sniffer dog Sky, who did a very thorough job, was a fantastic way of protecting residents from unsafe goods from unscrupulous traders. With the help of partners such as Wagtail UK, HMRC and the police, we can tackle rogue traders and find hidden illicit goods.

"Preventing the sale of illicit goods protects public health and keeps children safe from underage sales. Our Trading Standards team will continue to keep seizing illicit tobacco and non-compliant vapes and we encourage anyone to report shops that flout the law.

"Anyone who knows of retailers selling counterfeit goods, selling tobacco or e–cigarettes to young people under 18, or selling over-size or counterfeit vapes, can refer these issues to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice helpline on 0808 223 1133."