Counterfeit booze seized at Tilbury (From Thurrock Gazette)

Counterfeit booze seized at Tilbury

10:33am Thursday 24th December 2009 in News

THE UK Border Agency rumbled a plan to smuggle tens of thousands of bottles of counterfeit and poor quality spirits into Tilbury.

It seized the haul of about 56,000 litres of vodka and whisky, which arrived from Germany, yesterday after tests confirmed their counterfeit status.

The goods, spread across four containers, would have cost the taxpayer approximately £600,000 in unpaid excise duty and VAT.

Deputy Regional Director Central Region of the UK Border Agency, Jim Jarvie, said: “Everyone is tempted by an apparent bargain, particularly in the run up to Christmas, but anyone who made the mistake of buying these goods would have been making a huge mistake.

“They are totally unregulated and there is no guarantee what the bottles’ contents will be. Smuggling also cheats the taxpayer, undermines honest local businesses and the proceeds are often driven back into organised crime.”

The spirits will now be processed through an anaerobic digester to extract methane, which is then used as fuel in generators. The bottles will also be recycled.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to smuggling should call 0800 59 5000.