More than 83,000 illegal tobacco products seized

The vapes were estimated to be worth around £12,300 (stock photo)

More than 83,000 illegal cigarettes, along with illicit tobacco and vapes worth tens of thousands of pounds, have been seized in council raids.

Portsmouth MP Amanda Martin joined Portsmouth City Council's trading standards team for two raids in North End, amid growing concerns over the trade in the city.

A council spokesperson said the volume of cigarettes, if genuine, would have been worth more than £63,000.

Martin said the experience was "a real eye-opener to see first hand the scale of the problem".

Counterfeit tobacco is illegally manufactured by unlicensed producers and has been found to contain arsenic, lead, sawdust, weed killer and even animal faeces.

Fake vapes can exceed the legal e-liquid capacity and may contain hazardous metals and chemicals.

The cigarettes, if genuine, would have been worth more than £60,000, the authority said

The raids targeted four shops and a nearby car, with officers seizing 83,740 cigarettes, 10kg of hand-rolling tobacco, 9.8kg of shisha and 1,648 packs of illegal vapes.

The council spokesperson said hand-rolling tobacco would have sold for about £35 per 50g, meaning the haul would have been worth around £7,000 at retail prices if genuine, though counterfeit versions are significantly cheaper.

The vapes were estimated to be worth around £12,300, based on an average price of £7.50 each.

Martin said she attended the raids "after hearing from local shopkeepers who are losing thousands of pounds a week in lost tobacco sales".

"With the help of sniffer dogs, we discovered suitcases and bags packed full of illicit tobacco products, stored in a central location that was clearly being used to supply multiple sites in the area," she said.

She added she would be raising some of the issues highlighted during the raid in Parliament.