From: Mail Online
- Images show secret spots used by tobacco smugglers to stash cigarettes
- It is thought Belarusian mechanics
By Kerry Mcdermott
These pictures reveal the crafty tricks used by tobacco smugglers to carry counterfeit cigarettes into Europe undetected.
From scores of cigarette boxes stashed inside a spare tyre, to packets piled high behind a rear bumper, they show the array of hidden compartments created in eastern European smugglers’ cars.
It is thought that some garages in Belarus – where the pictures were taken – have started offering a whole new service for clients; installing secret cubbyholes in vehicles anywhere from the dashboard to the bumper for drivers to stash cigarettes.
Hidden compartment: Boxes of counterfeit cigarettes stashed in the bumper of a Renault car to be smuggled into the EU
The smugglers can then drive across borders into the European Union in the hope that their hidden hauls will escape the attention of the authorities.
In the UK, HM Revenue and Customs estimates that tobacco fraud costs the government around £1.8billion every year.
Last month more than 30 million illegal cigarettes were discovered at Southampton Container Port in a shipment that was supposed to contain wind turbines.
They were thought to be counterfeit cigarettes that originated in China.
The smugglers had described the containers contents as ‘wind turbine parts’ on import documents in a bid to avoid paying more than £8million in taxes and duty, HMRC said at the time.
Customised cars: It is thought that many garages in Belarus will install hidden compartments in vehicles for motorists looking to conceal a stash of cigarettes
Smuggling: HM Revenue and Customs has said tobacco fraud costs the UK government around £1.8billion a year
Secret stash: Packets of cigarettes are seen stashed behind the rear bumper of this car
Crafty: The pictures show the array of secret spots on a vehicle that can be used to stash cigarettes; from the dashboard to the bumper
Contraband: UK Border Force has issued a series of warnings about the black market in tobacco, which it says cheats honest traders
