New Zealanders are being warned not to buy black market cigarettes through social media sites.
Police have been made aware of several instances of cigarettes being sold through sites such as Facebook and say any packets sold this way are likely to be stolen.
Netsafe Executive Director Martin Cocker has also received reports of the worrying trend.
"The instances that are reported to us are on Facebook pages, marketplaces set up on Facebook, so it’s these sort of unregulated marketplaces, ones that crop up around social media, that these things tend to be sold on".
The warning follows a spate of burglaries targeting cigarettes at dairies and service stations.
Mr Cocker says it’s not a smart idea to buy restricted goods online.
"The main risk is that you don’t know the source of the material so you may be buying stolen materials. You simply don’t know if the products are legitimate and safe".
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