Over 24,000 cigarettes, 25 kilos of tobacco and 40 litres of spirits were seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers in South Wales last week.
Domestic and commercial premises in Newport, Cardiff, Pencoed and Pontlottyn were searched. HMRC said he total duty evaded on the confiscated items exceeded £12,000.
Keith Morgan, from HMRC’s criminal investigations department, said: “Our searches resulted in the seizure of thousands of illicit cigarettes and kilos of illegally smuggled tobacco that would eventually have ended up on the streets of South Wales.
“These items may seem like a bargain but they have a hidden cost. Shops selling illicit alcohol and tobacco products undermine honest businesses, putting their livelihoods in jeopardy. And some who sell illicit cigarettes and tobacco ‘under the counter’ are not scrupulous about who they sell to – including children.”
Further investigations are continuing.
The seizures included:
- 15,000 cigarettes from a mailbox rental company in Cardiff (£3,400 duty evaded)
- 5,000 cigarettes and 2.25 kilos of tobacco from a shop in Roath, Cardiff (£1,700 duty evaded)
- 2,500 cigarettes and 1.5 kilos of tobacco from another shop in Roath (£600)
- 3 kilos tobacco from a home in Ely, Cardiff (£600)
- 4.5 kilos tobacco from a house in Pencoed (£900)
- 2,100 cigarettes and half a kilo of tobacco from a bookmakers in Pontlottyn, Caerphilly (£750)
- 8.5 kilos of tobacco from a house in Llanmartin, Newport (£1,700)
- 2,580 cigarettes and 2 kilos of tobacco from a shop in Newport (£1,000)
- 2,500 cigarettes from another shop in Newport (£500)
- 40 bottles of spirits from a shop in Newport (£350)