More than £37,000 of illegal tobacco, vapes and cash was seized by Trading Standards officers during a recent operation.
The five-week operation during January and February saw officers from the Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service, supported by Devon and Cornwall Police and Avon and Somerset Police, look for illegal tobacco.
During the operation officers visited 14 shops across the region including in Brixham, Crediton, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Plymouth, Taunton, Teignmouth and Wellington.
They used detection dogs to look for hidden stashes.
Only one shop was found to not be selling illegal products. All but one of the 14 shops were found to be selling illegal products.
Alex Fry, Operations Manager for Heart of the South West Trading Standards, said:
The removal of illegal tobacco and vapes from the marketplace is a high priority for us and we have conducted a number of intelligence-led operations over the last few weeks.
The service uses detection dogs so regardless of where it is hidden, in a storage container or retail premises, the dogs have the ability to sniff out even small quantities of tobacco and vapes that are hidden from view.
The sale of counterfeit and illicit tobacco and illegal vapes is big business and those shops involved can undercut other local general stores who are trying to operate legally during difficult economic conditions.
Investigations into those premises found selling the items are ongoing.
To report concerns of counterfeit or other illegal products, contact Trading Standards, email tradingstandards@devon.gov.uk or phone 01392 383000.
