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Illegal tobacco worth more than £60,000 has been seized in raids across Coventry.

The city council’s trading standards team found more dodgy shisha than ever before when officers went to properties in Hillfields, Cheylesmore and Willenhall.

They also discovered packs of hand rolling tobacco and cigarettes in the raids.

It is believed that the items are either counterfeit, non-duty paid or not displaying the required health warnings.

A total of 1,800 packs of cigarettes, 80 pouches of rolling tobacco and more than 1,000 boxes of shisha tobacco were seized – but so far no-one has been arrested. Investigations into the illegal tobacco haul are ongoing.

Nigel Wooltorton, of Coventry’s Trading Standards team, said officers were determined to crackdown on the problem.

He said: “The raids have resulted in the greatest single amount of illegal shisha we have seized.

“We are determined to take enforcement action when needed to stamp out what can be an extremely profitable business.”

Faye Abbott, assistant police and crime commissioner for the West

Midlands, said illegal tobacco was an increasing problem.

“As well as avoiding customs duties, and increasing health inequalities, legitimate local businesses also lose out to cheap illegal sales,” she said. “It’s also important to remember that illicit tobacco may be easily affordable and accessible to young children.

“The police, the city council, the NHS and other parties will continue to work together to reduce the availability of illicit tobacco across the city.

”We will remain determined and focused to rid the city of this terrible problem. We want a healthier city and we want to rid Coventry of this criminality.”

The operation follows on from a 2012 public health campaign which raised awareness of the fact that smoking shisha can be just as harmful as smoking cigarettes.

Anti-smoking charities say illegal cigarettes kill four times as many people as illegal drugs.

A study on their contents revealed that some contained asbestos, human excrement and dead flies.

Some illegal cigarettes are produced legally abroad and shipped to the UK, avoiding the tax that makes up 75 per cent of a legal packet of cigarettes.

While the shipped cigarettes might be legal abroad they often do not meet UK safety standards for levels of tar, carbon monoxide and other dangerous chemicals.