Millions of cigarettes seized in Customs raid (From The Northern Echo)

Millions of cigarettes seized in Customs raid

11:54am Friday 29th February 2008 in News

CUSTOMS officers recovered approximately three million cigarettes following a search of industrial premises in the Newcastle area last night.

The duty evaded on this haul of cigarettes is estimated at around £500,000.

Dave Gostelow, a spokesman for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise said: "The North of England is one of the worst areas in the UK for the illegal importation and sale of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.

"People sometimes assume that tobacco smuggling is a fairly low level crime and often the public turn a blind eye to it, but what they don't realise is that it means big business for criminals and their gangs.

"This is far more than passengers simply bringing back a few extra cigarettes or a little more tobacco. These gangs are professional outfits who will go to great lengths to smuggle in goods.

"They are making a hefty profit at the expense of the honest taxpayer and local businesses and are using their profits to fund much larger criminal operations such as people trafficking or major fraud. For these reasons alone we need to flush out the criminals involved in this activity."

Mr Gostelow added: "Many smokers think they are getting a good deal, but these cigarettes are usually cheap because they are not the genuine article.

"Counterfeit cigarettes are even worse for your health than normal cigarettes and it is not easy to tell the difference between a genuine cigarette and a counterfeit cigarette, until it is too late."

No arrests have been made following last night's discovery, but enquiries are ongoing.

Anyone with any information on the trade should call the 24-hour hotline number on 0800 59 5000, All calls will be treated in confidence.