On Monday 6 July, Southampton City Council’s Trading Standards Service conducted an illegal tobacco operation at two shops and a secure storage unit in Southampton. They were assisted by officers of Hampshire Constabulary and Stuart Phillips K9, who provided a tobacco detection dog, named 'Cooper.'

With Cooper's help, council officers seized a total of 519 packets of illicit cigarettes and tobacco, with a value of approximately £6,000.

Some of the seized products were smuggled into the country illegally , while others were completely counterfeit. These illegal tobacco products may have been made in other countries for sale in the UK, or made in the UK in illegal warehouses with no safety standards.

Read more here: https://www.southampton.gov.uk/news/article.aspx?id=tcm:63-429067