A stash of 10,000 illegal cigarettes has been found hidden under a floor in a Spalding shop in Lincolnshire.
According to local reports, Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire Trading standards raided a few shops after they were alerted by a member of the public on Thursday (24). During the operation, the team uncovered another elaborate remote controlled compartment storing thousands of illegal cigarettes inside a shop in the county.
Footage recorded by Trading Standards officers showed how illegal cigarettes were concealed underneath the floor in a unique hide powered by a remote control. On pushing the remote control button, the floor begins to rise with stock still on top, revealing the cigarettes underneath.
To further attempt to hide the counterfeit products, other legal shop stock such as kitchen roll and coffee were piled on top of the cigarettes and tobacco, reports said.
Apart from illicit tobacco, officers also found a stash of illegal medicines and a large quantity of cash, Lincolnshire County Council said in a report.
The report comes just weeks after a shop in Boston was found to be doing the same thing.
Andy Wright, Principal Trading Standards Officer with Lincolnshire Trading Standards, said, "We will now conduct an investigation to establish the person, or persons, responsible. Our objective is to remove dangerous tobacco products from the market. It is a legal requirement that cigarettes self-extinguish if left unattended, but illegal cigarettes do not have this important safety feature.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen how the consequences of this missing safety feature have proved fatal in Lincolnshire,” Wright said.
Alex Rimmer
