We follow a Trading Standards Officer through the debris, his torch flickering back and forth in the dark until it lands on a secret cache of thousands of illicit cigarettes. While investigating illicit cigarette sales in Hull, this is just one of these bizarre experiences. We regularly saw illegal and counterfeit tobacco being sold at main street mini-marts throughout one week. When we attempted to record the sales, store employees threatened us and seized our cameras.
Now, this is a well-known tale that is being told all throughout Britain. The National Crime Agency (NCA) conducted raids on hundreds of high-street establishments in April, many of which were believed to be supplied by international criminal groups. Teams from Trading Standards have also discovered a flourishing illegal tobacco trade.
Because of its connections to human trafficking and, in some situations, illegal immigration, a prominent criminology specialist referred to the networks that sell contraband cigarettes as the “golden thread for understanding serious organised crime.”
Therefore, these high street shopfronts are somewhat related to the several internal issues that Britain is currently confronting. According to political scholars, it is also eroding public confidence in the government and police, and transforming our streets into representations of the country’s downfall.
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