Illegal cigarettes seized from trailer at Immingham port

A TOTAL of 3.5-million smuggled cigarettes have been seized from a trailer arriving at Immingham port.

UK Border Agency officers discovered the illicit cigarettes in the back of a curtained trailer which had arrived in the port from the Hook of Holland on Sunday.

They were concealed inside two large pieces of industrial machinery.

With an estimated street value of £3.50 for a pack of 20 illicit cigarettes, experts believe the total revenue evaded by the smugglers is more than £600,000.
And for the first time, HM Revenue and Customs – which is continuing to investigate the incident – has released details of what happens to the illegal or illicit cigarettes once they have been seized.

The tobacco and contents of the cigarettes are burnt to provide power for the National Grid, while the cardboard packaging and wrappers are recycled.

HMRC spokesman Bob Gaiger said: "The expertise of local detection officers and investigators has prevented millions of illegal cigarettes from reaching the streets.

"Cigarette smugglers are solely motivated by profit and don't care about the impact their actions have on legitimate retailers."

A 38-year-old Polish national who was driving the vehicle containing the hoard was arrested at the scene and subsequently interviewed by HMRC investigators.

He has been released on police bail while enquiries continue.

The latest hoard comes just months after seven-million illegal cigarettes were seized during two inspections at the port within seven days.

As reported, UK Border Agency officers uncovered an illegal haul of 4.35-million Lambert & Butler cigarettes following checks on a lorry that was carrying tyres from Germany at the end of December.

The potential value of the seizure in terms of lost revenue for the UK taxpayer was estimated to be about £997,000.

Just days before, more than three-million cigarettes were found inside sofas on lorries that had arrived in Immingham from the continent.

As reported, after discovering 38,000 Chinese-made cigarettes in the bottom of the first sofa they opened up for examination, a search of the remaining 84 sofas saw a total of 3.25-million cigarettes being recovered.