October 10, 2018 10.07 am This story is over 65 months old

Lincoln shop raided after tip-off

Officers found dangerous cigarettes hidden in the ceiling
A large quantity of cigarettes were seized by officers.

A “large quantity” of illegal cigarettes were seized from a second Lincoln store after a police raid.

Super Stop Shop, based at 74 Monks Road in Lincoln, were found to be involved in the illegal sale of dangerous cigarettes and alcohol.

It was the third store in the county to have their Alcohol Premises license revoked in the past week.

Lincolnshire Police were tipped off by shoppers about the illegal activity before the raid.

When officers raided the store, they found illicit cigarettes hidden in the ceiling behind light fixtures as well as illegal alcohol, which was displayed behind the counter for sale.

Boxes of cigarettes were discovered in the ceiling.

Seargant Kim Enderby, alcohol licensing manager, said: “What we discovered was deliberate criminal activity, putting profit before public safety.

“The cigarettes hidden in the ceiling were a deliberate attempt to avoid detection but thanks to information from the public we were ablse to do something about this trade in illict goods.

“If the public keep telling us where this is happening, we will continue raiding and disrupting the criminals involved.”

There is a 21 day appeal process after a store has their license revoked and it only comes into action if no appeal is lodged.

Almost 10,000 illegal cigarettes seized in shop raid