Man who attempted to sneak thousands of cigarettes in luggage caught at customs
A man's plan to sneak thousands of cigarettes through customs went up in smoke.
Border force staff at Birmingham Airport stopped a man trying to bring hundreds of packets of cigarettes into the country on Wednesday, May 24.
Birmingham Airport Police shared a photo on social media that shows piles of Esse cigarettes covering almost the entire desk.
The contraband was seized by border force officers and the man attempting to bring it in has been referred to HMRC for a penalty payment.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Border Force officers continue to work to ensure all goods bought into the UK by passengers are appropriately declared and abide by custom and excise rules.
"Goods may be seized if passengers break the rules leaving them liable to fines or prosecution."
Travellers arriving into the UK can bring in a certain amount of goods – including tobacco – without having to pay tax or duty, as long as what they are bringing is for their own personal use or being given as a gift.
The maximum tobacco allowance means people arriving into the UK can bring either 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, 250g tobacco, or 200 sticks of tobacco for electronic heated tobacco devices. The allowance can also be split to, for example, 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars – both half the allowance. If the amount of tobacco brought is more than the allowance, the owner will be required to pay tax and duty, as well as declaring the items before they travel or when they arrive at the border.
HMRC said the investigation was ongoing.
