AROUND £10,000 worth of illegal tobacco as well as more than 100 bottles of suspected counterfeit vodka and out-of-date food has been seized by council trading standards officers.

The goods were seized from a rear store cupboard of a shop in the Wexham area of Slough during checks on Tuesday, March 10 by Slough Borough Council’s trading standards team who were acting on information from the community.

The tobacco broke the law by not carrying pictorial and English health warnings – suggesting they were smuggled into the country. An investigation has been launched and the store owner could now be prosecuted.

Councillor Sohail Munawar, commissioner for social and economic inclusion, said: “The smuggled tobacco trade is not good for legitimate business and it’s important we do all we can to stamp it out.” The trading standards team, who were joined by licensing officers and sniffer dogs, visited six shops across the borough during the day-long operation, but no other illegal products were found.

Dean Cooke, senior trading standards officer, said: “Days of action like these are often triggered by calls from residents or traders and we are always grateful for the information.

“Some shops stock smuggled tobacco because they can buy and sell it cheaper, under cutting the prices of the shops that sell the products legally and putting them at a distinct disadvantage. This work is aimed at levelling out the playing field and making sure our residents buy safe products.”