Dog helps search for hundreds of illegal pills

Hundreds of tablets believed to be potentially dangerous illegal imports were seized from a convenience store, police said.

Tablets for the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra and the painkiller Tramadol are only available in pharmacies or with a prescription, but were found in a shop in Wolverhampton with the help of a sniffer dog.

The store was inspected by the council’s trading standards team after receiving reports that staff were selling illegal e-cigarettes, tobacco, cigarettes and shisha.

No arrests have been made so far while investigations into suspected illegal goods continue, West Midlands Police confirmed.

Seizures were also made at another store in the city, where 9,000 illegal e-cigarettes were found behind a locked toilet door and in the owner’s car, police said.

“I’m glad we were able to use the information from local people to get these items off the streets,” said Sergeant Nicola Sephton.

It was part of a joint operation between West Midlands Police and the council’s trading standards teams and the drugs would be tested and destroyed, it said.

Councilor Zee Russell said the imported prescription drugs could be “extremely harmful or even fatal”.

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