Boston raids uncover hidden counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes
Police and trading standards raids in Boston found suspected counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes hidden in shops and a flat, as Border Force reported record national seizures.
How it was covered
- BBC One was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on Boston raids, hidden tobacco stashes and health risks.
- Channel 5, BBC News, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
BBC News reported that customs and Border Force officials seized a record 1.9 billion cigarettes and more than 150,000 kilos of rolling tobacco last year. It said the goods were worth around £1.2 billion and that they were ending up on the high street. According to the BBC, the seizures showed criminal gangs using increasingly sophisticated methods to hide smuggled and counterfeit tobacco.
The BBC report followed police and trading standards officers in Boston, Lincolnshire, on a series of raids. BBC reporter Sarah May Bucheri was invited along. In footage shown by the BBC, a sniffer dog called Griff indicated a find within a couple of minutes at one suspected front, and officers found suspected counterfeit cigarettes hidden behind a wall.
BBC News reported that officers described a hidden room with a fridge used to hold the tobacco because the fridge was sealed. According to the BBC, the suspected counterfeit cigarettes were behind a wall.
At another shop, the BBC reported, officers found a key to a nearby flat where stacks of suspected illicit cigarettes were discovered. In the BBC report, Marshall, a senior trading standards officer, said the cigarettes were foreign-labelled, which is an offence, and likely counterfeit. Marshall said no one knows what is in counterfeit cigarettes, so hospitals would not know how to treat an adverse reaction, and that foreign-labelled packs lacked the required health warnings.
BBC News reported that no-one was arrested at the two shops it visited. According to the BBC, trading standards said the raids were part of their fight against illegal cigarette sales, and investigations continue.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Customs and Border Force reported seizing a record amount of cigarettes and rolling tobacco last year. | |
| No arrests were made at the two shops visited by the BBC. | |
| Suspected counterfeit cigarettes were found hidden behind a wall during a raid. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West's coverage was a reporter-led report from the Boston raids. It focused on the hidden methods used to store suspected counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes, including a concealed room and a nearby flat, and gave space to the health risks of counterfeit tobacco. It also set the local raids against record national seizures by customs and Border Force.
- “We're looking at suspected counterfeit cigarettes all behind this wall.”
- “Any cigarettes that are counterfeit, we've got no idea what's in them.”
- “No-one was arrested at the two shops I was at.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.