HARWICH: One million cigarettes were seized at the Port of Harwich last week – bringing the total number of illegal cigarettes stopped at the port in the past two months to 12.3 million.
Border Force officers found the latest haul inside a lorry trailer coming from the Hook of Holland listed as holding machinery.
An x-ray of the truck detected an anomaly with the load, and a further search revealed the machinery was nothing more than a series of metal boxes containing the tobacco.
If the smuggling attempt had been successful it would have cost the Treasury an estimated £200,000 in unpaid tobacco duty.
The seizure, at around 7am on December 15, is the latest in a series of high value smuggling attempts through the port.
These include:
November 5 – one million cigarettes in a load of dishwashers
November 17 – 6.3m cigarettes in a load of washing machines
November 25 – three million cigarettes in a load of tortilla chips
November 30 – one million cigarettes in a load of potatoes
Charlotte Mann, Border Force assistant director at Harwich, said: “This was an excellent detection that has starved those responsible of the proceeds of their criminality.
“The use of technology, officer expertise and intelligence has also seen Border Force officers at Harwich detect millions of smuggled cigarettes since the start of November.
“These results are a testament to the hard work of Border Force and send a strong deterrent message to those criminals who would seek to profit from smuggling.
“I would urge anyone tempted by cheap cigarettes and tobacco to think again. The black market cheats honest traders and it is effectively stealing from the public purse.”
The vehicle carrying the cigarettes was also seized.
Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to smuggling can call the Border Force hotline on 0800 59 5000.
