A sniffer dog has been praised as a “hero” for discovering a stash of illegal cigarettes, vapes and unlicensed erectile dysfunction tablets during an enforcement operation in east London.
The trained four-year-old springer spaniel, known as Skye, detected suspicious smells from a locked bike box outside a shop in Whitechapel while on patrol with officers on 11 June.
The box appeared to be an ordinary delivery bike box but in reality was a covert cache of illicit goods, according to Tower Hamlets Council.
The box contained:
- 33 packets of illicit cigarettes
- 7 packets of smokeless tobacco
- 14 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco
- 24 illegal vapes
- 80 unlicensed erectile tablets
These “can be really dangerous and have no place on our high streets”, councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury said.
“I’d like to thank our Trading Standards team and Skye who played a hero’s role in helping to keep our communities safe.”
The seizure was part of a two-day crackdown on counterfeit and unsafe goods, which in total led to the seizure of:
- 5,840 illicit cigarettes (292 packets)
- 418 assorted illegal vapes
- 2,055 packets of smokeless chewing tobacco
- 80 unlicensed and potentially dangerous erectile tablets
The dog patrol formed part of Tower Hamlets’ £8 million Anti-Crime Task Force – a joint initiative with the police to combat crime and disorder.
The programme was launched to bolster community safety with weapons sweeps, vehicle checks and drug disruption.
Mr Chowdhury added: “We take a proactive approach to smoke out illegal trading in Tower Hamlets and regularly use sniffer dogs, so there’s no place for such trading to hide.”
