Customs seize 15 million cigarettes at Belfast docks

Customs officers have seized nearly 15 million smuggled cigarettes which were intercepted at Belfast Port.

Customs officials said they believed the duty free cigarettes, which were intercepted in a consignment of clay pots from Holland, would have been sold illegally in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The smuggled cigarettes would have cost the taxpayer around £2.5 million in lost revenue.

The latest seizure is part of Customs’ major crackdown on tobacco smuggling and follows hard on the heels of last week’s seizure of three million cigarettes at Larne Port.

A Customs spokesperson said: “Last week it was duty free cigarettes in a consignment of Bulgarian matches, this week it’s clay pots. These latest seizures highlight our ability to detect these illegal consignments, however the smugglers try to disguise them.

“Tobacco smuggling takes revenue away from the local economy and into the hands of a few criminals. The illegal sale of duty free cigarettes also means less money for schools and hospitals.”

In March 2000, the Government invested £209 million into tackling tobacco smuggling. The investment aims to put cigarette smuggling into decline within three years.

A £3 million publicity campaign was launched in September 2000 to raise general public awareness of tobacco smuggling as well as sending hard messages to smugglers and potential smugglers.

(AMcE)