Over 1m cigarettes seized in raid

Customs officers have seized more than one million cigarettes in a raid on an industrial unit in Leicestershire.

The goods, which had been marked for duty-free sale, were discovered at a distribution centre in Ellistown in Coalville on Tuesday.

The cigarettes had been incorrectly described as electrical lighting.

If undetected, the loss of revenue to the public purse would have been about £200,000, customs officials said. No arrests have been made.

Keith Morgan, inland detection manager for HM Revenue & Customs, said: "This operation was part of our continuing efforts to disrupt tobacco-smuggling and reduce the availability of cheap, and often counterfeit, cigarettes from local streets in the region.

"The proceeds from cigarette smuggling are often used to fund serious and organised crime such as drug-smuggling."

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