LONDON: A Crawley man has been arrested on suspicion of tobacco smuggling following raids in the town and across London where cash, hundreds of thousands of cigarettes and vehicles were seized.
About 60 officers HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), working with Trading Standards teams, raided 10 residential and business premises in Crawley and Bermondsey, in South London, as part of an operation to disrupt the illegal trade of tobacco and cigarettes yesterday (Thursday, June 4).
They seized about £20,000 in cash, 200,000 cigarettes, 80kgs of hand rolling tobacco and three vehicles. The estimated revenue loss of the seized tobacco is around £80,000.
A total of four men were arrested as part of the operation.
They were a 60-year-old from Crawley, two men aged 55 and 49 from Southwark and a 63-year-old from Bexley.
They have each been interviewed under caution by the HMRC and bailed until September 2015 so further investigations can take place.
Anthony Swarbrick, Assistant Director of criminal investigations for the HMRC, said:”The sale of illegal tobacco will not be tolerated by us or our partner agencies. Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit tobacco market, which costs the UK over £2 billion a year in stolen revenue.
“This is theft from the taxpayer and money that should be funding our public services.”
Anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol is urged to call the HMRC on 0800595000.
