A quarter of a million illegal cigarettes and 1,500 potentially lethal contraband vapes were among the products seized in a joint police and trading standards operation in Newcastle.
Newcastle City Council's trading standards team and Northumbria Police also nabbed 50kg of hand rolled tobacco in the raid, which took place on a compound on the Newcastle riverside earlier this week following a tip-off. The haul of recovered goods is thought to have a retail value of around £215,000.
The stash was stored in metal containers in a compound on the riverside, but after receiving a tip, the enforcement teams swooped and used blow torches to access the containers. With a street value of more than £105,000, this is one of the biggest hauls seized in recent times, according to the police and council.
