From: Daily Record
By Keith McLeod
BRITAIN is a prime target for tobacco smugglers, who take advantage of smokers’ dismay at the rising tax on the habit.
A customs officer shows counterfeit cigarettes seized by authorities
CRIMINAL gangs are turning to the internet to sell cheap fake tobacco that is often laced with extremely hazardous material.
The anonymity of the internet and its reach means authorities are now faced with tackling a new front in the war on cheap counterfeit cigarettes and rolling tobacco.
Earlier this month, the Record revealed how fake cigarettes laced with radioactive material were intercepted in Poland.
The counterfeit fags were found to contain strontium 90, a radioactive isotope produced when atomic weapons explode.
Britain is a prime target for tobacco smugglers partly because of our tax on cigarettes, which is among the highest in Europe.
