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The heroic dog was pictured sitting proudly among bags of illegal cigarettes that were seized during various raids.
A Scots police dog has helped bust more than 10,000 illicit cigarettes during raids in West Lothian. A total of 10,340 illicit cigs and 43 pouches of hand rolling tobacco were discovered during joint raids in Armadale and Whitburn.
The premises were targeted after tip offs from the public. The local authority trading standards team alongside officers from Police Scotland tracked down the illegal goods during several searches, reports Edinburgh Live.
But it was a tobacco detection spaniel who stole the show sniffing out the harmful products. West Lothian Council said they got “a little help from their four-legged friend” who helped the team while carrying our their warrants.
An adorable photo posted on social media shows the heroic police dog, who name is unfortunately not known, sitting proudly in the back of a police van among four bags of illicit cigarettes that were seized during the raids.
A spokesperson for West Lothian Council said: “Our Trading Standards Team have been getting a little help from a four-legged friend.
“The council’s Trading Standards Team have been involved in joint raids with officers from Police Scotland and tobacco detection dogs, with illicit tobacco being seized from premises in Armadale and Whitburn following information from the local community.
“A total of 10,340 cigarettes and 43 pouches of hand rolling tobacco were removed from sale. The premises have also been reported to HMRC.”
The council spokesperson explained how illicit tobacco can contain a higher amount of harmful or unknown substances, as well as poor unregulated factory conditions where they are produced.
Setting out more of the dangers, they went on: “Illicit cigarettes may also have an increased fire risk as they are unlikely to have not been manufactured using fire retardant paper, which means such cigarettes will not go out quickly if left unattended, potentially causing a dangerous fire.
“Underage sales of tobacco may be more likely due to the lower sale price being appealing to children, and lack of age verification by the sellers. The income generated from the sale of illicit tobacco has also been linked to funding serious and organised crime. Local legitimate businesses are impacted due to unfair competition.”
If you have any concerns about illicit tobacco being sold in your local area, you can report this anonymously online to Trading Standards here.
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