Two shops have been closed down after selling thousands of pounds of dangerous and illegal tobacco which was hidden behind trapdoors and under floorboards.

More than 40,000 illegal cigarettes were found when the two shops were raided in Gillingham town centre.

Now the owners of East Europe Foods in King Street, where 18,030 cigarettes were found, and Monika’s Mini Market in Canterbury Street, which had 22,410, have had their leases terminated.

At the time the shops were effectively removing £35,000 from Gillingham's economy - that is the value of the products had they been legal.

The street value is just half of that - at around £17,000.

It was quick business and Ian Gilmore from Medway’s Trading Standards team said he believed each of the shops had been making more than £20,000 per week in sales of the products.

The leaseholders of East Europe Foods constructed false walls, floors and trap doors to hide the products and also hid tobacco within food packaging on the shelves. Although the shop did have other items allegedly for sale it was clear it been set up just to sell illegal tobacco.

A total of 68,000 illegal cigarettes and 21 kilos of rolling tobacco have been seized in raids in Medway since August.

Three further shops are facing similar closure orders in the coming months.

Cllr Andrew Mackness, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services, said: “The people running these shops have demonstrated they have absolutely no intention of complying with the law.

“They avoid paying duty, cheat the system wherever they can and make huge amounts of money off the sale of illegal tobacco.

“We are determined to stamp them out and as these cases demonstrate we will continue to drive them out of business.”

There are two forms of illegal tobacco and cigarettes: those smuggled in illegally and sold cheaply without any tax being paid on them, and those that are created outside of known brands.

Mr Gilmore said: “These products are unregulated, there are no safety checks, we don’t know what is in them.

“Legitimate cigarettes have speed bumps, which slow down the burning process and mean they go out if left unattended in the home, which the counterfeit versions do not have. They are dangerous.”

The bulk of the finds were discovered during a routine awareness event that ended up turning into a raid.

Trading Standards and A Better Medway were in town to warn people about the dangers of buying and smoking the illegal products.

But while demonstrating how well trained the sniffer dogs – Phoebe, Eric and Scamp – are, the trio got a whiff of some dodgy dealings and uncovered illegal products in the shops.

East Europe Foods was already on the radar of Kent Police and Medway Council after being prosecuted for the same offence last year. Staff changed and one is believed to have left the country, but the shop continued to sell the counterfeit and non-duty paid tobacco on return visits.

Illegal sellers often use the tactic of bringing staff in from all parts of the country to maintain a high-turnover to reduce the likelihood of a successful prosecution.