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Tobacco haul found in back of fish truck
CUSTOMS officers smelled something fishy when they seized a huge haul of cigarettes from a lorry on an industrial estate in Rotherham.
The lorry was disguised to look as if it was delivering fish – but on closer inspection was found to be carrying a cargo of six million cigarettes.
Officers from HM Revenue and Customs found thousands of packets when they intercepted the vehicle, believed to have come from Poland.
It is not yet known whether the cigarettes are dangerous counterfeit versions of real brands, or genuine cigarettes – which would have been worth 1.5million in excise duty and VAT on import.
Some of the packets were branded Regal and have been sent away for testing for authenticity. Others were a foreign-branded cigarette called Jin Ling.
The seizure comes hot on the heels of a raid on commercial premises in Brightside and Attercliffe last month, when customs officers found more than 10 million counterfeit cigarettes, including fake versions of Embassy and Regal brands, destined for sale on the black market.
Brian Matthews, HMRC's head of special investigations for the Yorkshire region, said: "My officers have seized almost 20 million illegal cigarettes from the South Yorkshire area in less than a week.
"We said last week South Yorkshire was fast becoming one of the worst areas in the UK for smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, and the fact we are intercepting such large, commercial quantities of illegal cigarettes and tobacco in the area only serves to justify that claim."
He said the cigarettes were probably headed for the black market in Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley, where they would have been sold from private houses, pubs, clubs, factories and workplaces.
"We hope by highlighting our seizures in South Yorkshire it will help get the message across to the public that this activity is on a commercial scale and means big business for criminals and their gangs.
"These gangs go to great lengths to smuggle in goods and they are making a hefty profit at the expense of the honest taxpayer.
"I want to personally discourage the public from buying cheap or duty free cigarettes or tobacco.
"They may feel they are getting a good deal by saving a couple of pounds, but not only are they funding criminal activity they will be seriously damaging their health."
Anyone with information about fake cigarette sellers can report them by calling 0800 595 000.
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