Inside the secret tunnels underneath a UK high street hiding illegal cigarettes | BBC News

Law enforcement is struggling to stop the growing sale of illegal tobacco in mini marts across British high streets, a BBC investigation has revealed.

Trading Standards teams say they don’t have the resources to tackle the organised crime gangs suspected of supplying some of the shops and said the profits being made are on a par with selling heroin and cocaine.

Trading standards has described the issue as a war, and that asylum seekers with no right to work in the UK have been found inside some of the shops. HMRC says it costs the country at least £2.2 billion in lost revenue.

In response to our report, the Home Secretary said it was a disgrace that criminal gangs are trying to abuse our high streets and said the government has increased raids and arrests for illegal working by 50 per cent since the election.

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Post from BBC News on July 03, 2025

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