Three raids have led to a haul of illegal tobacco products being seized by police and trading standards officers in the Camborne, Pool and Illogan area.

Following tip-off from members of the public, officers searched houses and businesses over the last few days, discovering over 500 packets of cigarettes and over 300 pouches of hand rolling tobacco, across four properties.

Three men were arrested and a further two have been helping with enquiries, with criminal investigations expected and potential prosecutions.

Gareth Walsh, of Public Health Cornwall, said: "The sale and distribution of illegal tobacco and cigarettes is most definitely not a victimless crime. Cheap cigarettes help to encourage children to start smoking, the absence of all the health warnings loses the deterrent intended to encourage smokers to quit, the tax-free prices undermine existing, legitimate shops and the whole illegal nature of the transactions encourages less desirable characters into our communities."

Elizabeth Kirk, a senior trading standards officer, said: "We are particularly pleased to see that the public is no longer prepared to put up with this illegal trade going on near where they live. Trading Standards has received more and more calls and reports from the public over the last year, all of which has helped us to tackle the menace of illegal tobacco sales."

If anyone has any information concerning the sale of illegal tobacco or alcohol they can report it in confidence by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by emailing report-it@cornwall.gov.uk