Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
Trading standards carried out ‘Operation Icarus’ on 16 November after receiving reports of illegal sales of counterfeit and foreign cigarettes at The Romanian Shop, based in Merridale Street West, Wolverhampton.
The team, along with West Midlands Police and specialist BWY Canine search dogs, searched the entire property for hidden tobacco.
They walked out the premises almost empty handed until specialised search dog Yoyo took a liking to the business owner’s illegally parked A Class Mercedes outside the store. They discovered £15,000 worth of fake and genuine cigarettes in the boot of the vehicle.
Along with the Mercedes, more than 25,000 counterfeit cigarette packets were seized by Wolverhampton Trading Standards and taken for further examination.
Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Selling and supplying counterfeit tobacco is a serious crime that not only robs the public purse of much needed revenue, but also poses a real threat to public health.
“This is a perfect example of the hard work that is being undertaken by our trading standards team and the fantastic work we do with sniffer dogs who play a vital role in our success.”
Council officers also alerted its in-house environmental health team to alert them of cockroaches discovered on the premises. The team inspected the property the following morning and formally closed the store and is currently awaiting a court date.
