Police officers have seized more than 9,000 illegal cigarettes found inside a shop in Gravesend.
Gravesend's Community Policing Team made the bust after a patrol attended the unnamed shop in Milton Town, Gravesend.
At around 2:30pm on Monday, December 21, officers found the shop empty, but while searching found more than 9,000 cigarettes being stored.
The untaxed tobacco was removed from the shop and officers are continuing to make enquiries in connection with the investigation.
Kent Police said they will continue to crack down on "opportunistic shopkeepers" who sell items unfairly and against the law.
Chief Inspector Shona Lowndes of the north Kent Community Safety Unit said: "We work tirelessly to ensure any businesses found profiting from the sale of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products are dealt with robustly.
"Offending like this is not a harmless crime and opportunistic shopkeepers who sell these items also gain an unfair advantage over law abiding businesses which can have a detrimental impact on the livelihoods of shop holders acting legitimately.
"We continue to work with partner agencies, such as Trading Standards, to ensure any business found operating in this way is stopped from doing so, and we will continue to clamp down on businesses which are involved in this type of offending."
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