HUGE HAUL OF TOBACCO SEIZED BY CUSTOMS

CUSTOMS officers have seized what is thought to be the biggest haul of
smuggled tobacco in Scotland.

The surveillance operation which began in England netted five million
cigarettes, the equivalent of 250,000 packets.

A team from the Customs and Excise National Investigation Service
(NIS) had been following developments after a container ship docked at
Felixstowe in Suffolk and they eventually intercepted the load in
Granton, Edinburgh.

Eight people have been arrested and one man has been charged and
released on bail.

An NIS investigator said that the cigarettes, which were in a
container of linen from Egypt, were part of a growing trade in
contraband tobacco. He said that the high cost of cigarettes in
Britain was partly responsible.

"There is so much revenue involved in tobacco that smuggling is very
worthwhile." he said.

The trade in contraband cigarettes costs the Scottish economy tens of
millions of pounds a year.

Authorities are now preparing for an increase in cigarette smuggling
into Scottish airports between now and 1 December when 20p goes on to
the price of a packet of 20 in the UK.

Popular brand names can be bought for as little as UKP7 for a carton
of 200, a quarter of what they cost in Britain. They are then sold to
street traders, markets and shopkeepers who sell them at a huge profit.

Smuggling costs British taxpayers an estimated UKP1 billion a year in
lost duty.

Two years ago, less than half of the tobacco sold in Britain was
smuggled in, but the proportion has now soared to 67 per cent.

One of the main gateways for smuggled consignments is Glasgow airport,
which is used increasingly by organised crime gangs from the
north-east of England.

Organised criminals are said to be moving away from drugs such as
cannabis and Ecstasy and into tobacco smuggling. Not only can the
trade be more profitable, but the penalties, if the criminals are
caught, are less severe than for hard drugs.

In the run-up to Christmas, Custom officers are starting a crackdown
on retailers who sell smuggled alcohol and tobacco. Operation
Mistletoe will target shops, pubs and clubs throughout the UK.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry