Twenty million illegal cigarettes seized

13 November 2009

A joint surveillance operation which led HMRC and SOCA to an industrial estate in Essex has resulted in the seizure of an estimated 20 million illegal and counterfeit cigarettes.

A container supposedly full of toys and games was followed from the Port of Felixstowe, and as four men began unloading it at an industrial unit in Upminster, Essex, officers moved in and arrested them.

SOCA Deputy Director Andy Sellers said:

“Don’t be conned into believing that cigarette smuggling is a bit of harmless entrepreneurship which saves people money – that’s just what criminals want you to think. The reality is that profits from illegal cigarettes fund serious organised crime on the ground.

“Seizures like this are a vital way of denying criminals the cash they need to operate, and preventing harm to communities everywhere. Not only that, cheating the Treasury means taking cash out of the pockets of every honest taxpayer - these people are intent on robbing all of us.”