Stansted Airport tobacco smugglers foiled

THREE separate attempts to smuggle chewing tobacco through Stansted Airport have been thwarted by UK Border Agency officers.

THREE separate attempts to smuggle chewing tobacco through Stansted Airport have been thwarted by UK Border Agency officers.

Officers seized a total of 870kg of chewing tobacco spread over three freight consignments last Thursday and Friday.

The packages had originated in Belgium and were destined for addresses in London and Hook, Hampshire. In an attempt to evade duty in excess of �66,000 the importers had listed the goods simply as “chewing products”.

Assistant director for the UK Border Agency at Stansted, Sarah Wolstenholme, said: “Vigilant UK Border Agency officers spotted an anomaly in the paperwork and authorised a search. From that point on the detection was straightforward, the smugglers had made no attempt at concealment and were hoping that the consignments would simply go unchecked.

“The tobacco was undoubtedly headed for the black market, cheating the British taxpayer and undermining honest traders. The people who operate in this trade also have no scruples about who they sell their products to, including children.”

The tobacco will be taken to an incinerator plant, where it will be burned – and the energy fed straight into London’s electricity supply.