The true human cost of illegal tobacco trade in Greater Manchester laid bare – Manchester Evening News

While the coronavirus lockdown has seen trade slow or stop completely for many businesses in Greater Manchester, the illegal tobacco industry is alive and well.
Thousands of counterfeit products which have continued to be smuggled and sold throughout the pandemic have been uncovered in shops across the city-region.
Bundles of fake cigarettes and rolling tobacco have been seized from secret compartments built behind shelves, walls, cash machines and even above a toilet.
A stash of illegal …

Click here to view the original article.