Monthly Archives: December 2011

From: Worcester News (UK)

RETAILERS and residents in Worcestershire are being urged to keep an eye out for fake cigarettes and rolling tobacco.

Worcestershire Regulatory Services says it is aware that such items are being sold in the county and that they are not only illegal but can potentially cause serious harm.

Trading standards officer Leanne McLean warned: “Fake tobacco products often contain much higher levels of nicotine and tar and contain toxic chemicals including formaldehyde and arsenic.

“They are also often padded out with leaves and debris. Sellers of these fake products claim they are imported into the UK and are therefore available at a much reduced price as no duty has been paid.”

From: TheJournal.IE

OFFICERS FROM Revenue Customs Service have seized nine million cigarettes which arrived in Ireland described as ‘sports socks’.

The seizure – in conjunction with the gardaí – was made at a premises in Co Monaghan on Saturday with the ‘President’ brand cigarettes carrying an estimated street value of €3.8 million and a potential loss to the Exchequer of €3.2 million.

The cigarettes had arrived at Dublin Port in a 40-foot maritime container from Malaysia, via Rotterdam and were described as ‘sports socks’ on the manifest.

From: London 24

by Mike Brooke

A man on the run from his East End home has been sentenced to seven years by a court in his absence for organising a £2.6million tobacco smuggling ring.

Leigang Liang, a 39-year-old Chinese national living in Wapping, was one of three men jailed at Lewes Crown Court in Sussex last Thursday.

It follows an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs into 16 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco and 360,000 cigarettes smuggled in from China.

“The motivation of this organised crime gang was pure greed,” said assistant director of HMRC’s criminal investigations department, Martin Brown, after the court hearing.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

From: The Olive Press

BRITISH expats are being offered cash rewards for information about suspected tobacco smugglers.

The HM Revenue & Customs campaign aims to clamp down on illegal imports of cigarettes to Spain – many of which come via the Gibraltar border.

Around 225 million cigarettes and several tonnes of tobacco destined for the UK have been seized in Spain over the last year.

“We hope the public will help us come down hard on the smugglers and fraudsters who cheat the rest of us by not making their full contribution to the cost of public services,” said an HMRC spokesman.