Thousands of pounds worth of black market tobacco and alcohol has been seized in Hounslow.
Customs officials went on a blitz of shops, in Heston, where they confiscated thousands of cans of beer, hundreds of bottles of wine and spirits, as well as a haul of chewing tobacco, as part of a clampdown on the sale of goods with unpaid duty.
The revenue loss on the goods is nearly £4,000.
Officers from HM Revnue and Customs (HMRC) targeted four stores in the borough on Tuesday (March 17).
Among the seized items were 2,061 litres of canned beers, 313 litres of wine, 32 litres of spirits and 4.5kg of chewing tobacco.
Jennie Kendall, HMRC spokeswoman, said: “The sale of illegal alcohol and tobacco will not be tolerated.
"Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit market, which costs the UK around £2bn a year.
"This is theft from the taxpayer and undermines legitimate traders.
“We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”
No arrests have been made and investigations continue.
