Watch police raid newsagents in Chatham and Gillingham and find thousands of illegal cigarettes
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Updated: 15:41, 04 March 2021
A hide containing several thousands untaxed cigarettes was found in the yard of a convenience store.
Police raided several shops over two days and seized 123,040 cigarettes and arrested eleven peopled during an operation targetting illicit tobacco sales in Chatham and Gillingham.
Police empty the hide found at Payless Convenience Store in Gillingham
The raids were carried out in partnership with HM Revenue and Customs, Medway Council, the Home Office and Kent Fire and Rescue Service on February 26 and 27.
As well as the cigarettes, 19.8kg of rolling tobacco were also found and nine men, aged between 19 and 42, and two teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit tax evasion.