Illicit Tobacco Partnership

The tobacco industry is working to secure control of a system to track the movement of cigarettes around the world, allegedly because it is complicit in the smuggling of its own products, according to a new research paper.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) seized more than eight million cigarettes and 200kg of hand-rolling tobacco from an industrial unit used by Moon and his gang. All the goods were counterfeit.

Northern Ireland: Woman arrested in Belfast after 40,000 suspected illicit cigarettes seized

Counterfeit and tax-free tobacco was being sold from a general store fitted out with secret compartments to hide the illegal activity, a court heard

 Stockton woman who hid thousands of illegal cigarettes inside Dr Dre headphone boxes has been ordered to repay £16,000.

A Middlesbrough couple caught with almost 140,000 illegal cigarettes have been handed suspended jail terms.

This is the suspected illegal stash of 6,000 cigarettes discovered in a Gateshead shop – hidden behind a concealed basement wall.

A man has been jailed after almost 2m illicit cigarettes were found stashed in a Bootle storage unit.

Officials raided the 41-year-old’s home in November 2016 and seized 50,368 cigarettes, 63kg of hand rolling and chewing tobacco and 76 litres of alcohol.

A crackdown has been launched in a bid to tackle illegal tobacco sellers who are targeting children by selling it at “pocket money prices”.