09/08/2004

Man arrested in Glasgow anti-smuggling swoop

A man has been arrested after Customs officers seized more than four million smuggled cigarettes from a lorry in Glasgow at the weekend.

The 35-year-old man, who is from Paisley, was charged with evasion of excise duty and a report has been prepared for the Procurator Fiscal. The revenue value of the cigarettes is around £800,000 and investigations are ongoing.

Customs Head of Investigation Scotland Gordon Miller said: "The work of Customs officers has stopped over four million duty free cigarettes reaching our streets.

"By removing up to £800,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes from the supply chain, we have helped protect honest shopkeepers from illegal competition."

(gmcg)

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