NI: Customs swoop nets three million cigs

More than three million cigarettes hidden among sheets of plate glass have been seized at Belfast Docks, Customs said today.

Customs officials discovered the counterfeit cargo hidden in a container which had arrived from China.

Lead was also packed around the crates in an attempt to stop the tobacco being detected by X-ray scanning equipment.

Revenue totalling over £500,000 (€740,720) would have been lost if the Superkings cigarettes had reached the open market, it has been estimated.

No arrests were made during the swoop, which began over the weekend.

It was the first time crimefighters had detected the lead shield technique to disguise illegal loads coming into Northern Ireland.

Colin McAllister, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Head of Detection, Northern Ireland, said tonight: “This was a well organised and sophisticated smuggling attempt and demonstrates HMRC’s continuing commitment to tackling tobacco smuggling.

“The large amount of cigarettes seized at Belfast Docks, which follows on from recent seizures of 400,000 cigarettes at Northern Ireland’s airports from the start of December, shows that tobacco smuggling is not a small scale, victimless crime.

“It can be highly organised and lucrative and we are working to tackle that threat.”

A total of 3,175,400 cigarettes were seized during the operation.

Mr McAllister claimed the authorities have had huge success throughout the UK fighting this type of organised crime.

He added: “What we’re increasingly seeing is that, as we’ve disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own fake versions of brand-name cigarettes.

“Smokers who think wrongly they are getting a bargain don’t realise that this trade damages honest businesses, costs billions in lost revenue and lines the pockets of criminals instead of funding public services.

“If smokers buy ’cheap cigarettes’ then there is a strong chance that they will be buying counterfeit cigarettes.

“So if you are tempted to buy cheap smuggled cigarettes on the street or in the pub – what you’re doing is not only funding organised crime, it can also be even more dangerous for your health than real cigarettes.”