Smokers were yesterday warned to be wary of buying poor-quality counterfeit tobacco after customs officers raided a factory' in Glasgow.
A flat in Hill Street was searched and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) confiscated nearly 170kg of illicit "Golden Virginia" tobacco.
Alongside the haul were wrappers, cellophane and duty stamps aimed at misleading smokers into thinking they were buying genuine hand- rolled tobacco.
AnnMarie Symes, a detective with HMRC Scotland, said: "This was a sophisticated operation with the manufacturers touting tobacco around the city, claiming it was cheap duty free. The reality is that the product was extremely poor quality tobacco with loose tea added to bulk it up. People who produce counterfeit tobacco undercut honest businesses, deprive the UK of funding and con their customers.
"Smokers should never buy tobacco or cigarettes from third parties in pubs, clubs, markets or car boot sales because they don't know what they're buying. What seems too good to be true often is."
On entering the flat on Wednesday, officers found a large amount of empty Chinese loose tea wrappings as well as very poor quality loose tobacco. Some of this had been dropped on the floor and swept up again, ready for sale later.
In the loft, officers found sealed packages of tea and loose tobacco, along with Golden Virginia pouches, outer wrappings, tax stamps and cellophane. No-one has been arrested so far.
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