From: The Press and Journal
By Tim Pauling
Smokers who buy black market cigarettes are helping fund terrorism and organised crime, according to a former Scotland Yard detective.
New research found that nearly a third (30.4%) of all cigarettes consumed in Aberdeen were either contraband, counterfeit or “illicit whites” – brands often manufactured legally in another country with the sole purpose of being smuggled.
Former detective chief inspector Will O’Reilly said some 70 brands of illicit whites have been found across the UK, selling for an average of £3 a packet.
Analysis by different law enforcement agencies has found them to be bulked out with all sort of things, such as bat droppings, human faeces, dead flies and sawdust, he said. They also lack fire retardant which help prevent accidental fires.
“I am concerned with the fact it does fund organised crime, the money is getting reinvested into other criminal enterprises including terrorism,” Mr O’Reilly said.
“The people who sell them don’t care who they sell them too, including children and young persons.”
