Warning as dangerous fake cigarettes containing RAT droppings found in shops – here’s how to tell if your fags are fake

AUTHORITIES have warned about dangerous fake cigarettes found in shops that contain RAT droppings.

Because of the pandemic, criminals have turned to making and selling fake cigarettes in a boom for the illegal tobacco trade – but here’s how to tell if your fags are fake.

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Will O’Reilly, illegal tobacco investigator and former Scotland Yard detective said: “The lockdown has led to a rise in the illegal tobacco trade in the UK.

“People buy these products without thinking about the hidden dangers both to their own health and also to their communities.

“It surprises me that people are willing to take these risks – especially when there are cheaper legal alternatives to smoking available like heated tobacco and e-cigarettes.”

Just last month, an illegal cigarette factory was seized in Armagh, Northern Ireland – which was capable of producing more than 390 million cigarettes a year.

Customs officers and police seized 11 tonnes of loose tobacco and 1.6m cigarettes – and the factory was also linked to terrorists.

And in another factory in Cricklewood, North London, officers found piles of rotting loose-leaf tobacco on the floor with rodent droppings in it which were being made into fake cigarettes.

And authorities believe that the increase in illegal cigarette consumption has been accelerated by lockdown because smugglers haven’t been able to travel from country to country.

Mr O’Reilly added: “Gangs are setting up factories in the UK and trafficking people to work in these factories, often from eastern Europe.

“There has also been an increase in the bulk smuggling of so-called ‘illicit whites’ – cigarettes produced legally outside the EU and the UK and then brought in on container ships and lorries.”

Criminals use social media like Facebook to advertise their illegal cigarettes – and with less contraband available, the price for counterfeits has gone up.

Speaking about the rotten environments that the fake fags are made in, Mr O’Reilly said: “The problem for consumers is that illegal tobacco is not regulated at all.

“We have seen evidence, particularly in one factory I visited in Cricklewood, London, of piles of rotting loose leaf tobacco on the floor with rodent droppings in it.

“That was being fed straight into a machine, along with water from a disgusting toilet pan.

“The ingredients have been known to contain a higher proportion of carcinogenic chemicals than in regulated products.”

There are also no fire-retardant measures put in these illegal cigarettes – meaning that if someone leaves a cigarette alight in an ashtray it won’t extinguish itself.

Illicit cigarettes have therefore been known to cause house fires and even deaths.

Mr O’Reilly continued: “From our undercover test purchase work we have seen that the current price of contraband cigarettes – dodging tax – is around £7.50. A pack of counterfeit cigarettes is selling for around £4.

“It is hard for people to tell the difference. We have seen examples of counterfeits being mocked up to look like contraband.

“So you think they are safer, and you are just dodging the tax, but the gangs are one step ahead.

“We have also seen cigarettes in plain packets to look like genuine UK cigarettes. Some rogue retailers are even selling them on their gantries as proper products.”

But there are some tail-tale signs that people should look out for to make sure they aren’t buying fake cigarettes.

Packets with no picture health warnings or with warnings in foreign languages could be a sign that the cigarettes are not genuine.

And packets that display the same code on the base of each pack – which is supposed to be unique – is also a sign that you’re buying fake fags.

Stock kept out of sight in shops and away from the regular tobacco display cabinet could also be a problem, as well as if they are sold in unusual locations, such as pubs, market stalls, private homes and internet sellers. 

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk