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• Secrets of smuggled cigarettes 

To the untrained eye they seem like ordinary goods - leather sofas, timber, even soft toys and lunch boxes - but hidden inside, millions of illegal cigarettes have been discovered.

Among the vast array of items which criminals try to smuggle through Birmingham Airport are guns and knives, animals, drugs, prescribed medicines and false passports.

But it is illicit cigarettes, both genuine and counterfeit, which make up the bulk of the hauls seized by customs officers.

On Friday, a hard-hitting campaign to warn smokers of the dangers of buying counterfeit cigarettes was launched in the West Midlands and Staffordshire by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Smokefree Alliance groups.

For those tasked with detecting the hauls before they arrive on the streets, it is a massive challenge.

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