From: Manchester Evening News
Tests on illegal cigarettes being sold in Manchester found rat poison, asbestos and even human faeces
By Paul Britton
Will O’Reilly, a retired Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector, carried out the investigation into the sale of illegal cigarettes
Lethal illegal cigarettes – containing rat poison and dead flies – were sold to investigators during a secret undercover probe.
Investigators posing as customers visited a number of different shops and stores across north Manchester and were sold 32 separate illegal tobacco products from 27 of them.
They included counterfeit and contraband cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
A retired police chief who led the undercover swoop said ‘young children’ were ordered to fetch counterfeit cigarettes from back rooms at two separate stores – while illegal tobacco was also being sold in pubs and even a butcher’s shop.
