Illicit Tobacco Partnership

A hapless criminal with a stash of illegal cigarettes crashed into a car and fled before returning to the police station to retrieve his car and counterfeit goods – and was promptly arrested

A man who ran a Bradford mini market has been told he could face a prison sentence after admitting a string of charges relating to the sale of counterfeit cigarettes

A West Yorkshire shop thought it had devised an ingenious way to sell illicit tobacco: a drainpipe “chute” that allowed illegal cigarettes to be sent straight to a drawer behind the serving counter from a secret room

North Ormesby shop keepers hid secret stashes of cigarettes and tobacco in an “organised” operation

A specially-trained tobacco dog has helped police and Trading Standards officers uncover a haul of illegal substances across Wearside

A large amount of illegal tobacco has been seized by North Tyneside Council’s Trading Standards team from a shop in Wallsend

North Tyneside Trading Standards, Northumbria Police and Yoyo the Working Cocker Spaniel made up the team which took part in the operation

Raids on premises in Benwell, Byker and Heaton netted 32,000 suspected illegal cigarettes and a kilogram of alleged illicit hand rolling tobacco

Sniffer dogs have rooted out tens of thousands of illegal cigarettes in a series of raids across Bury

More than 2,700 counterfeit cigarettes were discovered hidden behind a toilet in a Pontefract off-licence, the authorities say.