LONDON: Investigators have seized a haul of illegal tobacco and alcohol from shops in Leicester.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staged a two-day operation this week.
Officials visited 18 shops in and around Belgrave and Narborough Road on Tuesday and Wednesday and confiscated more than 30,600 cigarettes, 51kg of tobacco and 919 litres of spirits and wine from 13 of them.
They are now analysing the seized items to determine whether they are counterfeit or illegal imports.
They estimated the potential loss of revenue to the taxpayer at £28,950.
Officers, who were supported by Leicestershire Police and trading standards officials, also seized £3,000 in cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act and confiscated a car.
Stuart Taylor, assistant director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “The sale of illegal tobacco and alcohol will not be tolerated by us or our partner agencies.
“Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clamp down on the illicit tobacco market, which costs the UK about £2 billion a year, and the sale of illicit alcohol, which costs the UK £1 billion per year.
“This is theft from the taxpayer and undermines legitimate traders.
“We want to warn shopkeepers who are being offered cheap deals on alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco to buy their stock only from legitimate and reputable sources, as selling duty free or counterfeit goods is a serious criminal offence.
“If they are caught, retailers selling illicit goods may have their stock seized, face a fine or have their licence to sell alcohol permanently revoked. They could also face prosecution.
Shops caught breaking the law face punishments including a fine of up to £5,000, losing their National Lottery terminal or being prevented from selling tobacco products for up to six months.
A shopkeeper in Narborough Road said: “We heard shops were being visited this week. We only sell legal products.
“People used to come into the shop with bags of illegal cigarettes and asked us if we wanted to buy them. That doesn’t happen any more because they know we are not interested.
“People who buy these products have to realise they have no idea what is in them.”
Last month, the Leicester Mercury accompanied a team of investigators employed by a leading cigarette company as they visited shops in the east of the city.
In one day they were able to buy smuggled or counterfeit cigarettes in 31 shops – the vast majority of those visited.
The cheapest pack of 20 that members found was £3 – about one third of the mainstream price.
The haul included counterfeits of mainstream brands Marlboro and Benson and Hedges. Some were illegally imported Eastern European brands.
Others in the haul were what are known as “illicit whites” – cigarettes manufactured by criminals solely for sale on the illegal market, which are known to contain hazardous substances barred for use in legitimate tobacco products.
