The Royal Borough of Greenwich used a detection dog to uncover hundreds of packets of illegal cigarettes.
On Sunday 2 November, the council, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police, identified a secret hide behind a wall panel at a shop on Trafalgar Road in Greenwich.
The hide, which was located by a police detection dog, was accessed via a sliding panel and a remote control which allowed a shelf to descend, this was found to contain hundreds of packets of illegal counterfeit cigarettes.
Cllr Rachel Taggart-Ryan, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Enforcement said:
“Retailers cannot get away with possessing and selling counterfeit tobacco products, these not only damage the health of our residents but also undermine the legitimate businesses in our borough. We are coming down hard on retailers who think they can bypass trading standards regulations, to ensure everyone in Greenwich is safer, and feels safer.”
At the same premises in June 2025, officers seized a large number of illegal tobacco products from another sophisticated concealment system involving electronically operated magnetic locks.
The council will now carry out further investigations and enforcement, including the potential prosecution of the retailer.
Anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco or vape products can report it to the council by calling 020 8921 8157 or emailing tradingstandards@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.
If you want to provide this information anonymously visit the London Trading Standards website.