Huge haul of illegal cigarettes seized from Huddersfield shops

Just some of the illegal goods seized by police and trading standards officers during the overnight raids on shops in Huddersfield. Pictures: West Yorkshire Police.

Acting on intelligence from the public, some 14,520 cigarettes, 1.3kg of hand-rolling tobacco and 312 illegal blunts were seized during a pre-planned operation overnight last Thursday.

Kirklees Neighbourhood policing teams worked with West Yorkshire Trading Standards in order to disrupt the criminal use of retail premises for the supply of non-duty paid and counterfeit goods.

West Yorkshire Police did not disclose which premises had been targeted but confirmed that officers and trading standards officials visited licensed premises, checked the terms of their licenses and whether they were compiling with regulations issued by Kirklees Council.

Immigration checks were also carried out to scrutinise the status of “individuals of concern” to ensure they were legally in the UK and allowed to work.