Walsall stores trapped in smuggled tobacco sting

Jun 11 2009 by Mike Bradley, Birmingham Mail

FIVE Midland stores were targeted in a Customs crackdown on cigarettes and tobacco smuggled into Britain.

Four stores in Walsall and one in Wolverhampton were visited during the one-day strike, which saw more than 6,000 cigarettes and around 1.5 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco seized.

Customs detection manager Keith Morgan said: “The majority of retailers are law-abiding, but a number believe they can make easy money by selling black market goods under-the-counter.

“This type of crime is depriving the public purse of around £3 billion a year in lost revenue. The effect on legitimate traders is devastating as they have to compete on an uneven playing ground.”