Thousands of cigarettes seized in Londonderry

Thirty locations on both sides of the River Foyle were visited by officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) supported by the PSNI in operations that targeted the
sale of illicit cigarettes. During the raids seizures amounted to 48,181 cigarettes,
kilos of hand rolling tobacco as well as counterfeit DVD's, CD's and football jersey's.
As part of an ongoing programme of visits to businesses across Northern Ireland (HMRC) officers involved in the Londonderry raids used new hand-held scanning equipment to quickly identify counterfeit non UK-duty paid tobacco products. The scanner detects covert security markings on the packaging, invisible to the naked eye, and gives an instant indication of counterfeit or smuggled tobacco.
Brian Dixon, Specialist Investigations, HMRC said: "The unregulated sale of illegal cigarettes and tobacco is not a victimless or harmless crime, and encourages otherwise honest people to trade with criminals. The gangs behind this form of criminality are motivated solely by greed and personal gain. Their lavish lifestyles cost the taxpayer around £3 billion per year in unpaid duty.
"We are tackling tobacco fraud at all points of the supply chain, from smuggling and storage through to sale, and we are now using new technology to quickly identify the illegal and counterfeit products.
"We will continue to work with our partner agencies, the PSNI and the Organised Crime Task Force, to combat this crime but we are also keen to work closely with local people. We would encourage anyone who knows of someone selling cheap or duty free cigarettes and tobacco to contact our hotline on 0800 59 5000."
Investigations into the origins of the seized products are ongoing.