Customs seize 121,000 cigarettes at East Midlands Airport
15.12.07
More than 120,000 cigarettes were seized by customs officers this week from a gang of 13 people trying to smuggle them in to the UK via East Midlands Airport. The cigarettes were seized as the group, who were mostly from Derbyshire, returned on a flight from Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday afternoon.
The revenue loss to the nation had the cigarettes not been discovered was estimated at about £23,000. They will now be burnt in an incinerator at a power station. No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.
John MacMillan, detection manager for HM Revenue & Customs, said: 'We will not hesitate to take action against those dealing smuggled goods and evading duty. Selling illicit tobacco products is not a harmless tax fiddle - it cheats the nation of about £3bn a year, which could be used to fund vital public services such as hospitals and schools.'
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book east midlands airport hotels or east midlands airport parking at the lowest price, click on these links to two great east midlands airport parking and east midlands airport hotels price comparison pages.