Customs officers seize 800,000 illicit cigarettes in Dundee raid

HMRC said the goods found in the container were worth an estimated £378,000 in lost duty and taxes

A man has been charged after more than 800,000 suspected illicit cigarettes were seized by customs officials in Dundee.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the discovery was made inside a container at an industrial park in the city on Thursday.

More than 31kg of rolling tobacco was also seized in the raid.

HMRC said the goods found in the container were worth an estimated £378,000 in lost duty and taxes.

The cigarettes and tobacco were found inside a storage container at an industrial park in Dundee

A man in his 40s from Dundee was arrested at the scene and charged with excise duty fraud.

He was released pending further inquiries.

Joe Hendry, from HMRC's fraud investigation service, said: "Cheap cigarettes come at a cost, as they often fund organised crime and other illegal activity that causes real harm to our communities.

"HMRC continues to relentlessly pursue the determined minority who refuse to play by the rules."

Last month customs officers seized more than one million suspected illicit cigarettes and more than two dozen pallets of alcohol in a raid at an industrial park in Whitburn, West Lothian.

And in 2020, more than four million illicit cigarettes were found by customs officers at a warehouse in Glasgow.