COUNTERFEIT cigarettes worth an estimated £250,000 have been seized in Prestwich by Trading Standards officers.

One million fake Lambert and Butler cigarettes were recovered from a vehicle in Prestwich after a joint operation between Bolton officers and an investigator from Bristol-based manufacturer Imperial Tobacco.

The investigator had contacted Trading Standards in Bolton after being approached by a Ukranian man, asking if he wanted to buy the counterfeit goods

The offer was made during inquiries by the investigator into the sale of cigarettes on the black market. Trading Standards officers then posed as potential buyers for the cigarettes and helped to arrange a meeting with the seller, who agreed to deliver the cigarettes by van to an address in Horwich.

But the seller changed the delivery destination a number of times, before settling on the car park of a Tesco supermarket on Bury New Road, Prestwich.

Officers swooped on the vehicle at the arranged time, recovering the counterfeit products, but the vehicle occupants had already fled.

Trading standards have been unable to locate or contact the Ukranian seller since the seizure.

Liz Pritchard, Principal Trading Standards Officer for Bolton, said: Our main aim is protecting the consumers of Bolton from unscrupulous traders. We want to send a clear message that this will not be tolerated.

"Cigarette counterfeiting is a serious criminal offence, which accounts for a loss of jobs.

"Those producing counterfeit products are often exploited, working in poor conditions, without any concern for safety.

"Those buying fake cigarettes very often dont know they are fake, and that they contain far more tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide than genuine cigarettes. Very often they contain foreign material such as sand and plastic."