Illegal tobacco factory found after van raid

An illegal tobacco factory processing counterfeit cigarettes has been discovered by Warwickshire Police. Picture: Contributed

The two suspects, a 36-year-old man from Portsmouth and a 28-year-old man from Glasgow, were arrested following the police check carried out by Warwickshire Police at Warwick Services on the M40 on November 17.

The seizure led officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to an industrial estate in Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire, where they found a tonne of tobacco along with counterfeit tobacco pouches, duty labels and processing machinery.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTSMAN

• Subscribe to our daily newsletter (requires registration) and get the latest news, sport and business headlines delivered to your inbox every morning

• You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google +

The seized tobacco could have filled 30,000 standard 50g tobacco pouches with the duty evaded being about £300,000.

John Cooper, assistant director, criminal investigation, HMRC said: “Working closely with our partners at Warwickshire Police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, we have uncovered and closed down an illegal tobacco processing operation. Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit tobacco market, which costs the UK around £2.1 billion a year in lost revenue.

“This is theft from the taxpayer and undermines legitimate traders. Anyone with information about the illegal production or sale of tobacco should contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

The two men were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the fraudulent evasion of excise duty and were bailed until May 2015.

SCOTSMAN TABLET AND IPHONE APPS

• Download your free 30-day trial for our iPad, Android and Kindle apps

• Keep up to date with all aspects of Scottish life with The Scotsman iPhone app, completely free to download and use