BORDER Agency officials have seized 150,000 cigarettes being smuggled through Britain’s biggest port.
The haul was found at the Port of Felixstowe in boxes listed as insulation material.
The eight boxes of Jin Ling cigarettes, which had been shipped from Latvia, were discovered hidden under a shallow layer of stones at the top of each box.
Had the smugglers been successful they would have evaded about �35,000 in unpaid excise duty and VAT.
Officers found the boxes last Thursday after they were unconvinced by the paperwork relating to the load and conducted a search.
“Cigarette smuggling is a serious crime and can help fund organised criminals,” said Bill Form, UK Border Agency assistant director at Felixstowe.
“Smugglers have no qualms over who they sell their illegal product to or checks on the quality and ingredients in their goods.”
It is not the first time smugglers have used the same method to hide their contraband – in January this year officers seized 329,000 Jin Ling cigarettes smuggled in exactly the same way.
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