Specially trained dogs helped uncover tobacco hidden on stairs during one of the searches carried out at stores in Lichfield and Burntwood on Monday.

During the searches, Staffordshire County Council’s trading standards officers seized more than 2,850 illegal or oversized vapes, 42,600 cigarettes, 17kg of hand-rolling tobacco and 463 illegal food items, including sweets and American drinks.

Victoria Wilson, cabinet member for trading standards at Staffordshire County Council, said: “Our officers continue to tackle the sale of illicit and illegal products and this is a significant seizure.

“The supply of illegal goods is closely linked to organized crime and helps fund its operations. These items can also be dangerous to people’s health and harm legitimate traders, so their removal from the market is a real outcome.”

The searches were carried out with the assistance of Staffordshire Police, the Home Office’s Immigration Department and Lichfield District Council’s environmental health team.

Councilor Alex Farrell, Cabinet Member for Lichfield District Council, said: “Our officers have been involved in carrying out a series of successful raids across Lichfield District, seizing illegal products believed to have been sold for thousands of pounds.

“The protection of the residents of the neighborhood is our priority and this operation is a stern warning to the perpetrators of these criminal acts: this crime will not be tolerated.”

The seizures took place as part of Operation CeCe and Operation Joseph, two national initiatives aimed respectively at combating the sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes.

Lord Michael Bichard, chairman of the National Trading Standards, added: “The illegal tobacco trade harms local communities and affects honest businesses operating within the law.

“Having removed 46 million illegal cigarettes, 12,600kg of hand-rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale, Operation CeCe, the National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC, continues to successfully disrupt this illicit trade.”

People can report the sale of illegal goods online by visiting staffordshire.gov.uk/Business/Tradingstandards/Trading-Standards-Report-It.aspx or by calling Trading Standards on the confidential helpline on 01785330356.