Staff from the government agency teamed up with South Tyneside Council's trading standards officers to carry out the raid yesterday.

As residents and shoppers looked on, a total of 12,200 cigarettes and 400 grams of hand-rolling tobacco were removed from the shop in Whiteleas Way, South Shields.

Nine bin bags filled with dozens of suspected counterfeit DVD and CDs were also seized from a nearby property.

A spokesman for Customs and Excise said: "We can confirm a shop has been visited by Customs and Excise.

"The operation was as a result of information passed on to the agency which comes from a range of sources, and this was a good result."

Inquiries into the goods seized from the two properties are now being carried out by the Customs and Excise and Trading Standards.

A spokeswoman for South Tyneside Council said: "After a call from Customs and Excise, our trading standards officers attended a premises in the Whiteleas area.

"A large quantity of suspected counterfeit DVDs and CDs were recovered and investigations are ongoing."

Last month, trading standards bosses launched a DVD – Snidey Sidney – to raise awareness of the cost of counterfeiting.

A hotline is available, set up by Customs and Excise, for anyone with information on the sale of illegal goods. To pass on information, contact 0800 595000.

Details on counterfeit goods can also be passed on to trading standards, confidentially, by contacting 0800 0935878.