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Police officers struck lucky when they stopped a motorist suspected of speeding and found thousands of pounds worth of illegal cigarettes.

More than 190,000 illegal cigarettes with a street value of £65,000 were found in the back of the driver’s Ford Galaxy when it was stopped on Bargoed gateway.

Around 140,000 of the cigarettes were counterfeit. The remaining 50,000 genuine cigarettes had no duty tax paid on them.

Gwent Police said the man, a 39-year-old from Swindon, was arrested on February 17 at 8.55pm, on suspicion of possession of unmarked tobacco products and distributing goods bearing a false trademark. He was later released under investigation.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team was called in to seize the cigarettes.

The council announced the seizure of the cigarettes on social media last week.

Senior Trading Standards Officer Tim Keohane said: “This is a significant seizure of illegal tobacco, which we believe was intercepted en route to be delivered to local sellers in the Bargoed area.

“It was due to be sold to local consumers, by unscrupulous criminals with no regard for the safety of their customers and no regard to who they sold to, including children.

“With the help of Gwent Police we’ve taken this product off the market and put a dent in the profits of the criminal gangs responsible for this illicit trade.”

Councillor Nigel George, council cabinet member for public protection, said the council has a “zero tolerance approach to the sale and distribution of illegal tobacco products”.