Tobacco detection dogs sniff out £100k of illicit tobacco and vapes across Pendle
Top tobacco detection dogs Hugo and Ziggy hunted down hidden stashes of illicit tobacco and vapes worth more than £100,000 at eight premises across Nelson and Colne.
Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team joined forces with Pendle Police officers and tobacco detection dogs from Wagtail UK, whose amazing canines are trained to sniff out hidden compartments containing tobacco, vapes and money.
During a day of action on Wednesday 11 February led by Trading Standards officers, they targeted eight premises suspected of selling illicit goods in Pendle – taking with them their furry detectives Ziggy, a four-year-old female Springer Spaniel, and Hugo, a male three-year-old Cocker Spaniel.
They soon found what they were looking for, and hauls of illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco were seized throughout the day. The successful operation resulted in more than 12,000 packs of illicit tobacco and cigarettes being confiscated with a street value of over £100,000, plus £3,000 in cash confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The items were a mixture of counterfeit and illegal unregistered brands. They were mainly in banned colourful packaging and mostly bore foreign health warnings.
Ziggy with some of the illicit items discovered and seized
As a reward for their on-the-ball investigative work, Hugo and Ziggy were excited to receive a ball game for each successful find.
Tackling illicit vapes and cigarettes is a priority task for Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team. More than 57,000 packs of illicit cigarettes and tobacco and more than 27,000 illicit vapes have been confiscated from Lancashire traders in 300 separate seizures from 162 shops between January 2025 and January 2026.
Councillor Joshua Roberts, cabinet member for Rural Affairs, Environment and Communities at Lancashire County Council, said:
"We are delighted that these incredible tobacco detection dogs, Hugo and Ziggy, were able to track down hidden stashes of tobacco and vapes worth over £100,000. Using the help of partners such as Wagtail UK, and the police, we can tackle rogue traders and find hidden illicit goods.
"The number of seizures and clever hiding places that our officers were able to discover on one single day of action shows what they are dealing with and the high value of the illegal trade in tobacco. We want to send a very clear message to unscrupulous retailers that we will take the strongest action to remove illegal products from our high streets."
To report any intelligence on illicit or counterfeit tobacco products and vapes, call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.