Over 10,000 illegal cigarettes seized by police during operation
It happened this week
Over 11,000 illegal cigarettes and £4,000 in cash has been seized following a multi-agency operation organised by the Fleet Neighbourhood Policing Team.
Raids were carried out on Wednesday.
A 35-year-old man from Fleet was arrested and is due to attend court to face a charge of driving whilst disqualified at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Thursday 1 October. A 30-year-old man from Fleet was also handed a community resolution after an officer was assaulted during the visit. The officer was not injured.
Two people, a man in his 20s and a woman in her 30s, were dealt with by Immigration Enforcement during the two-day operation.
PC Terry Read coordinated the planned activity and said: “We have listened to the community’s concerns and have worked hard as a team to plan this multi-agency operation in Fleet.
“I’m delighted to say this operation was a huge success, and I hope it demonstrates our continued commitment to protecting our communities from illegal and harmful activity.
“I would like to thank our colleagues from Trading Standards, HMRC, the Licensing Team and Immigration Enforcement who joined us on the operation. With their help, we were able to seize thousands of illicit cigarettes and tobacco, as well as £4,000 in cash.
“A huge thanks also goes to members of the community in Fleet, many of whom thanked us for our targeted approach and efforts in the town centre.
“We will continue to work together with partner agencies to help identify those who profit from these offences and our enquiries remain ongoing.”