Smuggled fags hidden in cookie boxes
NEARLY 50,000 smuggled cigarettes - some hidden in fortune cookie boxes - have been seized. Four addresses in Norwich, including a Chinese takeaway were searched by officers from HM Revenue & Customs.
NEARLY 50,000 smuggled cigarettes - some hidden in fortune cookie boxes - have been seized.
Four addresses in Norwich, including a Chinese takeaway were searched by officers from HM Revenue & Customs.
Officers used search warrants to gain entry to the take-away restaurant and three private houses in the city last Wednesday.
In total they confiscated 40,800 Chinese cigarettes which had been smuggled into the UK in parcels from South East Asia.
You may also want to watch:
The duty loss is estimated as �8856, no arrests have been made but investigations are ongoing.
At one of the addresses, a Chinese National was detained; enquiries on his residency are ongoing with the UK Border Agency.
Most Read
- 1 Police search undergrowth as man arrested for murder of missing woman
- 2 Man arrested for murder of still missing 83-year-old
- 3 Man jailed for county lines drug dealing in Great Yarmouth
- 4 Man 'helping police with inquiries' in search for missing woman
- 5 Suspected murder victim had 'heart of gold' and 'loved life'
- 6 Rooms with a view? See two new hotel suites costing £120,000
- 7 7 big projects in Great Yarmouth and when they are happening
- 8 Funding for Hemsby sea defences a 'significant challenge'
- 9 Rail service disrupted after boat hits railway bridge
- 10 Inquest hears sister of Hannah Witheridge died while pregnant
Dave Gostelow, from HMRC said: “Smuggling cigarettes is not a victimless crime. It takes valuable income away from local shopkeepers, allows children to purchase tobacco from an unregulated source and often involves criminal gangs bringing other illegal goods into the UK.
“Anyone who has information on smuggling can telephone our 24 hour hotline on 0800 59 5000.”
