Huge cigarette smuggling attempt stopped at Newcastle Airport
29.11.10
Smugglers were caught trying to bring more than a quarter of a million cigarettes in to the UK through Newcastle Airport last week UK Border Agency officers intercepted the haul which also included 27.2 kg (60 lbs) of hand-rolling tobacco.
The 270,920 cigarettes were discovered when 17 passengers, who had flown from the Canary Islands last Wednesday, passed through border controls. In total the team of officers searched 18 suitcases and 11 pieces of hand luggage, all of which were full of cigarettes.
Fred Simmons, Assistant Director of the UK Border Agency said: ‘This represents a significant haul for Newcastle Airport, and is testament to the tight controls we have in place at all our frontiers. Tobacco goods on this scale would defraud the government and the taxpayer out of a significant amount of revenue.’
