SMUGGLERS had 2.7 million cigarettes seized after they tried to hide them inside some radiators.
The stash of Jin Ling cigarettes worth £614,000 was discovered in a trailer shipped into Tilbury port. It had come from Belgium.
A legitimate importation of this amount of cigarettes would provide HM Treasury with more than £400,000 in excise duty and VAT.
Officers’ attention was drawn to the shipment by a discrepancy in the documentation.
They found several stacks of radiators which were actually hollow shells used to conceal the cigarettes. Anyone with information about suspected smuggling activity should call the UK Border Agency on 0800 595 000.
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