Leyland raid: Illegal tobacco products worth £55K seized

A "well-organised" store had a purpose-built store-room, coded lists and a chute for illegal goods, police say

Illegal tobacco products with a street value of £55,000 have been seized at a shop.

Police said a "well-organised" store in Leyland had a purpose-built store-room, coded lists and a chute for illegal goods, which included cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco and vapes.

The same shop was visited in November 2023 and 1,800 items were seized, including £5,000 in cash.

Trading Standards will now investigate further, Lancashire Police said.

The force added that officers from South Ribble's Neighbourhood Policing Team worked with Trading Standards on the search, which found 1,611 packs of illicit tobacco products.

Trading Standards Officer Dawn Robinson said the team would "not tolerate the exploitation of Lancashire's young people by unscrupulous businesses and will continue to take robust action against them".

"By seizing 1,611 illegal packs of cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco and vapes from a well-organised Leyland business... we made our local community safer for children, as the sale of these items encourages addiction," she said.

The goods were seized as part of Operation Centurion, a crackdown on anti-social behaviour.