Boo bags biggest fags haul in Scotland

SNIFFER dog Boo has set a record for the most illegal cigarettes seized by a trading standards team in Scotland.

East Ayrshire Council teamed up with the police to raid three premises in Kilmarnock.

Boo sniffed out 447,000 cigarettes, worth an estimated £134,000.

Training for Boo, a three-year-old Labrador-German Wirehaired Pointer cross, was funded by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), a body that represents all 32 local authority trading standards teams.

David Mitchell, chief governance officer at East Ayrshire Council, said: “As with all successful projects, partnership working has been key to this investigation.

“The trading standard service has taken an incredible 447,000 illegal cigarettes off our streets, which is the largest seizure in Scotland to date.

“The cigarettes are illegal for a number of reasons, including no duty being paid on them, trademark issues, and also the origin of some of the cigarettes is unknown, which means that they could contain extremely harmful substances.”

He added: “Boo, and her handler, were an integral part of the team and the investigation.

“In one of the premises, she indicated from ground level to an enclosed space at roof level.

“Our trading standards officers had to access the space with ladders and found 415,000 cigarettes, in just one of the premises alone.

“The trading standards service has delivered an incredible result with Police Scotland and Boo and her handler.

“The whole team should be proud of this achievement and for their work to protect local consumers.”

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