Gravesend secret tunnel yields major cigarette haul
- Published
Special detection dogs, seen here with the seized items, were deployed in the raids
A secret tunnel containing more than 148,000 illicit cigarettes has been found in Gravesend.
Officers found the tunnel, which led to an adjoining shop, after a detection dog indicated there was tobacco behind a false panel in a basement.
They raided eight shops over the space of two days, and seized a total of 242,000 cigarettes and 1,516 pouches of tobacco.
Kent Police said the total haul had an estimated street value of £76,000.
Insp James Beautridge, from North Kent's Community Safety Unit, said: "The results from these two days shows just how prevalent this issue is, and the lengths to which some shop owners will go in order to hide these products and avoid detection. "
Officers found a hidden tunnel leading to an adjoining shop in one raid
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