Customs raid finds 16m cigarettes

The revenue loss on the tobacco and cigarettes was £4.4m

Customs officers seized nearly 16 million cigarettes after cracking a smuggling scam.

Around 15,000 pairs of counterfeit branded trainers, and half a tonne of tobacco were also detected during a crackdown at a Coventry freight depot.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the goods found during a two-week operation filled five 40ft trailers.

A HMRC spokesman said proceeds from counterfeit goods often funded serious and organised crime.

Neil Goodban, anti-smuggling manager for HMRC, said: "This high impact campaign is part of our continuing efforts to stamp out the illegal trade in counterfeit goods.

"The proceeds from the illegal manufacture of counterfeit tobacco products and goods are often used to fund serious and organised crime such as drug smuggling."

The revenue loss on the cigarettes and tobacco was more than £4.4m and the trainers were valued at £2.4m.

The tobacco products, found during the crackdown at the parcel distribution centre on Siskin industrial estate, would be recycled to provide power to the national grid and the trainers would be destroyed, HMRC added.