The true cost of cheap tobacco on the streets of Plymouth

TOBACCO smuggling is supporting criminality in the city and “robbing taxpayers of millions”. In the last 12 months, Trading Standards officers in Plymouth has seized nearly £13,000 worth of tobacco and cigarettes. Each year HMRC and Border Force prevent billions of cigarettes and hundreds of tonnes of illegal tobacco entering the UK. While some non-UK duty paid (NUKDP) tobacco is brought into the country legitimately by smokers returning from abroad for their own consumption, some is smuggled into the UK solely for illegal sale. This illegal activity is undertaken by individuals, right through to organised criminal gangs (OCGs).