LONDON: UK customs seized €145.55m in cross border tobacco fraud operation. Four men and a woman were arrested in Northern Ireland as nine addresses in Down, Tyrone and Armagh were raided by HM Revenue and Customs with support from the PSNI.
Simultaneous searches took place in Louth and Dublin by officers from Revenue’s Custom Service with support from the Garda.A tobacco processing plant, 12 tonnes of raw tobacco, two million cigarettes and £50,000 (€66,160) in cash were seized during the operation in Northern Ireland.
Mike Parkinson, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation at HMRC, said:The trade in illicit tobacco is unregulated and makes cheaper tobacco more readily available to the young and vulnerable.
Tobacco fraud is a highly organised global crime which costs the £2bn (€2.65bn) a year in lost taxes. Co-operation with our partners across the UK, Ireland and overseas is essential if we are to tackle this problem effectively.”The five people were questioned by HMRC and have been released on bail.
