ILLICIT tobacco, cigarettes and toys were seized when police and council officers raided six off-licences in Radcliffe and Prestwich.

Following a tip-off, trading standards officers, police and specially trained dogs visited the shops on Tuesday, July 23.

They seized goods at five of the shops, including 5kg of tobacco and 5,500 cigarettes.

The haul comprised both counterfeit tobacco and tobacco on which UK duty had not been paid.

At one off-licence, trading standards also seized counterfeit toys and personal goods which were in breach of the Trade Marks Act.

An investigation is now under way and legal action could be taken.

Lorraine Chamberlin, head of environmental protection at Bury Council, said: “This is the first time we have used the detection dogs, and they can find tobacco and cigarettes even if hidden in the most unlikely places. Offenders need to know that they will face consequences if they choose to deal in illicit products.”

Cllr Tony Isherwood, the council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “Cigarettes are dangerous enough without having even more pollutants added. Many counterfeit cigarettes are polluted with dangerous material — faecal material, including camel dung, is particularly common. We want to highlight the dangers.”

Sgt Michael Stocks said: “This operation demonstrates that we take the sale of illicit goods very seriously and will continue to work with our partners to clamp down on this type of crime.

Anyone with information about fraudulent goods is asked to contact trading standards on 0845 040 506.