Almost £26,000 worth of illegal tobacco has been taken off the shelves by Edinburgh City Council’s trading standards team and Police Scotland.
The seizure, part of Operation CeCe – a UK-wide operation targeting illicit tobacco that is either duty evaded, counterfeit, or both, resulted in the seizure of almost £26,000 worth of stock. It included 22,600 cigarettes and 10KG of hand-rolling tobacco which in turn represented evaded duty of more than £10,600 defrauded from public funds.
Officers from the council’s trading standards team, in partnership with officers from Police Scotland, attended a number of premises in the Leith Walk area of the city.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Scott Arthur, said: “We are committed to tackling the supply of illicit tobacco, and will work with our partners in Police Scotland and HMRC wherever possible to disrupt its supply.
“Legitimate retail sale of tobacco is also disadvantaged where illicit supply routes exist, and we would encourage any legitimate business owners to come forward with any information.”
