Tobacco dog on duty in Moray
Enforcement officers from Moray Council’s Trading Standards department recently teamed up with tobacco search dog ‘Rosie’ and her handler, to visit a number of Moray businesses to check for illicit tobacco being sold from them.
This enforcement action, aimed at the recovery of illegal tobacco and disruption of the supply of it, comes on the back of information and intelligence, nationally and locally, regarding the increasing trend in this activity within certain businesses.
The Moray based action resulted in the seizure of a quantity of illicit tobacco from shops and licensed premises and a report will be submitted to HMRC.
Chair of Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Services Committee, which covers Trading Standards, Cllr Marc Macrae, said: “The sale and supply of illicit tobacco will remain a focus of attention for our Trading Standards team and partners across the country. The trade in illegal cigarettes and tobacco has a harmful effect on legitimate sellers and can have a costly financial and reputational impact on those found to be selling it illegally.
“Moray’s Trading Standards team will continue to respond to reports received from the public and to intelligence gathered, to target businesses who choose to ignore the law and engage in this harmful activity”.