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.'
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