THOUSANDS of pounds worth of tobacco has been seized from shops in Oldbury as part of a crackdown on illegal sales.

The illegal tobacco, found in four shops in Oldbury and West Bromwich, was sniffed out by Ted, one of the detection dogs Sandwell Council uses for this type of operation.

It’s estimated the team seized tobacco worth around £70,000 during their crackdown as part of this year's Safer 6 campaign.

Councillor Elaine Costigan, cabinet member for public health and protection, went along with the team who conducted the raids.

She said: “I wanted to see the team in action to get an idea of the problems they face when dealing with this particular criminal activity and to understand all the work that goes on behind the scenes before the raids are carried out.

“Seeing the sniffer dog find the illegal tobacco was amazing. These detection dogs can find tobacco and cigarettes even if it is hidden in the most unlikely places.

“We will be taking action against the shops we found to be selling illegal tobacco and offenders need to know they will face consequences if they choose to deal in these illegal products.”