Police found a £500,000 haul of Illegal cigarettes and tobacco stashed in shipping containers. Officers found the haul on Wednesday, October 15.

The raid in Kidderminster came as part of West Mercia Police's Operation Target, which aims to combat serious and organised crime. A team of tobacco dogs identified a shipping container suspected to have illicit cigarettes and tobacco inside.

That led to a second container being targeted. The large storage units contained boxes and bags of illegal products with an estimated retail value of half a million pounds.

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Trading Standards officers seized the products following the raid in the Foley Park area. Officers from Wyre Forest Safer Neighbourhood Team partnered with Worcestershire Trading Standards during the operation.

Lisa Hornberger, Wyre Forest Safer Neighbourhood Team Inspector, said the operation was a 'big success'. She added: "This joint operation with Trading Standards was a big success, uncovering such a large amount of high value counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco following good intelligence work.

Police officers assessed the haul, which was located by Tobacco search dogs Bran, Cooper and Griff
Police officers assessed the haul, which was located by Tobacco search dogs Bran, Cooper and Griff

"These illegal products would have been destined for black market tobacco sales which are linked to organised crime groups so taking them off the streets has not only protected the public from these unregulated products but also disrupted a wider network of criminal activity that impacts our local communities."