Smoked out: Illegal cigs 'chute' at shop

AN ELABORATE remote-controlled hydraulic ‘chute’ system to deliver illegal cigarettes from an upstairs flat to a fake plug socket behind a shop counter was found by trading standards officers, councillors heard.

- CHRIS GEE

The piston-operated setup found at California Wines Express, at Wigan Road, Bolton, pushed packets down a chute to the shop below.

Trading standards said eight different remote control buttons delivered eight different brands of cigarettes into a concealed box behind a wall. During a second visit to the shop, trading standard officers saw bags containing illegal tobacco being thrown from an open skylight onto the roof of the premises.