HMRC seizes illicit tobacco worth £1.7m in Wednesbury raid

TEN tonnes of tobacco smuggled into the UK from China has been seized by HM Revenue and Customs officers in a raid on a storage unit in Wednesbury.

The illicit haul would have deprived MRC of duty worth around £1.7m. Five people were arrested as they unloaded the product.

Adrian Farley, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: “This was a significant haul that would have been farmed out across the region, most likely being used to produce fake pouches of hand rolling tobacco and then sold on local streets as the genuine product.

“Low-cost tobacco products can often seem very attractive to people, lured into buying them at what seem like bargain prices. The truth is these goods have been smuggled, often by organised crime gangs, and sales are unlicensed and unregulated.

“We all pay extra to compensate for the money these criminals steal and HMRC remains relentless in our work to deter and disrupt this illegal trade.”
 
The five men arrested, aged 32 to 66, have been bailed until July 9, 2013 to appear at various local police stations. Investigations into the seizure are continuing.