More than a dozen police officers descended on a number of businesses in Gravesend this morning as part of a crackdown on the importation and sale of illegal tobacco.

Kent Police’s serious and organised crime unit carried out warrants at the stores in Queen Street at around 10am.

They were co-ordinating with teams from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Kent Trading Standards and Gravesham council’s Environmental Health team.

Detective Inspector Gary Scarfe said: "Today’s action is the culmination of work by Kent Police and partner agencies where we all worked closely together to target a number of shops suspected of illegally selling tobacco in Gravesend.

"With operations such as today’s, it is important to work with partners to draw on their expertise, knowledge and skills to ensure that operations are as successful as they can be."

Anyone with information about suspected criminal activity can call police on 101 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.