CUSTOMS have seized the biggest haul of smuggled cigarettes at Tilbury Port in the past decade.
Officers from HM Revenue & Customs seized 37 million cigarettes at the port.
The cigarettes, smuggled in to avoid paying duty, are through to be worth around £8.5million in unpaid tax and VAT.
They were brought in from Dubai, hidden in flat pack furniture containers. Following the seizure Chris Martin, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC said: “Cigarette smugglers don’t care about the impact their actions have on legitimate retailers.
“This attempt to flood the UK with smuggled cigarettes was motivated solely by greed.”
Geoff Hicks, UK Border Agency’s assistant director at Tilbury, added: “This is the biggest haul at Tilbury in more than ten years and is testament to the tight controls we have in place at our border.
“Cigarette smuggling is big business and by making this detection we have hit the smugglers where it hurts them most – in the pocket.”
No arrests have yet been made in connection with the seizure.
To report smuggling, call the Customs hotline on 0800 595000.
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