From: Hull Daily Mail
A STAGGERING 5.7 million cigarettes have been seized by Border Force officers at the Port of Hull.
A specialist team of detection officers found the haul on an unaccompanied trailer that arrived on a ferry from Rotterdam.
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Illicit cigarettes found in a trailer at the Port of Hull
The load was supposed to contain “kindergarten equipment” but was instead full of cigarettes.
The illicit cargo was bound for other parts of the UK.
The contraband, which totalled 5,760,000 cigarettes, would have cost £1,416,155 in unpaid duty.
After being seized, the goods will now be destroyed.
The seizure comes less than three weeks after 10.5 million cigarettes were seized at Port of Immingham.
Sam Bullimore, of Border Force, said: “We will continue to make life as tough as possible for those people who seek to smuggle cigarettes into the UK.
“This is not a victimless crime, as it defrauds the public purse out of huge sums of money and undercuts those traders who ply an honest trade.”
Project Yali was launched last month to combat terrorism and organised crime through Hull’s ports by enlisting the help of lorry drivers and other port users and encourage them to remain vigilant.
Mr Bullimore believes cigarette smuggling is part of a wider problem that helps fund organised crime in the country.
He has urged members of the public not to buy illicit cigarettes.
He said: “Anyone who chooses to buy counterfeit cigarettes may also be contributing to the funding of serious organised crime groups.
“We have expert and experienced staff who, supported by sniffer dogs and the latest technology, work round the clock to keep our border secure.”
The latest seizure was made on Thursday afternoon.
In the financial year 2010-11, the agency seized more than 650 million cigarettes and 314,775 kilos of hand- rolling tobacco at the UK border.
Such smuggling deprives the UK of about £2bn of revenue every year.
In the first three months of this year, there were more than 30,000 movements in and out of Humber ports by vehicles, including HGVs and tankers.
Last month, 63,000 cigarettes were discovered in a Polish lorry at King George Dock.
Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling can call the smuggling hotline on 0800 59 5000.
