Monthly Archives: August 2011

From: STV (Scottish Television)

More than half of shopkeepers in Scotland are aware of smuggled tobacco being sold in their area, according to a survey.

The poll by the Tobacco Retailers Alliance also found that 45% of independent retailers knew about “proxy purchasing” from their shops, when adults buy tobacco for under-18s.

A total of 53% said they knew smuggled tobacco was being sold in their area.

From: RTÉ News

A group representing Irelands’ tobacco retailers has warned that cigarette smuggling is the biggest threat to the survival of Irish retail businesses.

From: Al-Masry Al-Youm

A recent study showed that the Egyptian government lost about LE160 million during the first half of this year due to cigarette smuggling.

The study, which was conducted by an international cigarette company, said that smuggled cigarettes amounted to 2.1 percent of the total cigarette market in Egypt for the first half of 2011, compared to 0.01 percent for the same period the year before.

The study has attributed the increase to new taxes that the government levied on cigarettes after the revolution.

From: Dumfries & Galloway Standard

A DUMFRIES man was caught smuggling £6.3 million worth of fake cigarettes into the UK.

Lorry driver Colin Beattie, 45, had brought the haul through the docks at Dover.

But he was intercepted by customs officers and following an extensive investigation was on Monday jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Beattie was found guilty, by unanimous jury decision, of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of duty chargeable on the cigarettes.

He had evaded paying £1.046 million in tax.

Illegal tobacco worth more than £75,000 has been seized from a garage in Gloucester.

The haul included imported and counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco products not intended for UK distribution.

The discovery, weighing 334kg, was part of an on-going operation in the county.

Eddie Coventry, from trading standards, said: “This seizure would have represented a substantial loss to legitimate businesses.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the department.