AN ‘EXTENSIVE’ illegal loan shark and fake tobacco ring has been smashed after a series of raids across East Lancashire.

Lancashire County Council Trading Standards officers seized more than 1,300 packs of counterfeit cigarettes and along with large quantities of loose tobacco as well as bottles of fake Arctic Ice vodka.

Documents relating to a large-scale loan shark operation were also found, revealing that at least 180 people throughout East Lancashire have been targetted.

The tobacco haul, with an estimated street value of £10,000, was to be sold by delivery van throughout Accrington, Burnley and Rossendale.

Chief Trading Standards Officer Paul Noone said his team had disrupted ‘a significant loan shark ring’.

He said: “We believe that sales of illegal tobacco and illegal money lending are a serious and under-reported problem in East Lancashire. This could be the tip of the iceberg.

"While we're pleased to have stopped these fake goods reaching the street and have disrupted a significant loan shark ring, these raids only provides further evidence of what we know to be a wider problem.

"Lancashire Trading Standards will continue to crack down on this kind of illegal activity which damages the prosperity of genuine businesses and causes financial misery for some of our most vulnerable residents."

Money lenders have to be licensed to ensure they operate within the law and are fit people to deal with potentially vulnerable people.

Mr Noone said the loan shark was unlicensed, and had lent out many thousands of pounds over the last year.

He said there had been previous incidents of people being threatened with violence, kidnap and even rape if they failed to pay back cash on time.

And some loan sharks have been known in Lancashire to charge interest rates which can reach up to 120,000 per cent.

He said: “People often imagine that these kind of problems only occur in big cities or on soap operas but this is happening on the streets of places in Lancashire every day.”

The investigation was started after a tip-off from the police relating to the sale of cheap tobacco to children from a private house in the Burnley area.

On Thursday three premises in Burnley and Bacup were raided.

Mr Noone said the raids follow other seizures made by Trading Standards officers in March from shops in Burnley and Accrington, ‘providing further evidence of a worrying trend for East Lancashire’.

He said: "Consumers need to know that they have protections under the law when borrowing money- if you have borrowed money without being given proper paperwork, please seek advice. You may not have to repay the loan if it has not been provided legally.

"The net is closing in on illegal money lenders. Anyone who has found themselves in trouble with an illegal money lender can get help. The law is on your side, but we need the information to catch the criminals."

There are specific concerns over the increased health risks and heavier smoking rates associated with fake cigarettes.

While they are usually cheaper, there are no controls on the nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide levels in them, and they are often manufactured by exploited workers abroad.

In addition, cheap cigarettes are more likely to be bought by children - 60 per cent of underage smokers in the North West recently admitted to buying illicit tobacco.

Arctic Ice Vodka is an illicit brand and analysis of previous seizures has shown it to be based on industrial spirits.