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Dog sniffs out hole in a wall cigarette stash in Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent City Council Detection dog at the hole-in-the-wallStoke-on-Trent City Council
A tobacco detection dog helped sniff out the hidden compartment

Thousands of contraband cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco have been found hidden in a hole in a wall.

The concealed hole was sniffed out by a tobacco detection dog outside a shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

The hole, which was reached from the outside, was discovered as police and trading standards officers searched two stores in the city centre.

They found a total of 15,000 illegal cigarettes and 2kg (4lb) of illicit hand rolling tobacco worth £8,500.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council A close up on the hidden compartmentStoke-on-Trent City Council
The hidden compartment was in the outside wall of a shop and contained illegal cigarettes and tobacco, the city council said

The seizures were a mixture of counterfeit and smuggled tobacco, the city council said.

The council's director of public health, Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, said the sale of illegal tobacco "creates a cheap source of tobacco for children and young people".

"It also undermines all of the good work being done to stop people smoking," he added.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council Dog handler at hidden compartmentStoke-on-Trent City Council
The dog was part of a team working alongside police and trading standards officers.

The raids in Stoke-on-Trent were part of an ongoing operation by National Trading Standards to tackle illegal tobacco.

Police have not made any arrests.

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