A report by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers at Felixstowe reveals that an estimated £2.5 million worth of fake designer sunglasses, over 16 million counterfeit cigarettes, 2 tons of preserved meat and more than 1,800 kilos of tobacco have been seized within the last month at just one of the UK's ports.
Investigators say this represent the 'tip of the iceberg' for the UK in general, with UK cities being flooded with illegal imports & counterfeit goods.
Kevin Sayer, HMRC's Detection Manager at Felixstowe commented: " You never know what you may find in a consignment, for example water pipes turned out to be tobacco and goods described as toys were counterfeit cigarettes. Some of the items can be dangerous; the fake sunglasses were of very poor quality and if purchased by an unsuspecting shopper may not offer protection from the sunlight.
"Around 16% of cigarettes smoked in UK cities today are counterfeit. This represents 12 billion illegal cigarettes. Around 50% of cigarettes seized in the UK in 2004-2005 were counterfeit. If you buy cheap cigarettes from street sellers then there is a strong chance that you are buying fake cigarettes, which may contain even higher levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead. Cadmium. in particular, can have a serious impact on the nervous system."
Some of the seizures will make interesting reading for regional health professionals and trading standards officers:
* On the 29/03/07 officers discovered 2.3 tonnes of animal meat and 800kg of chewing tobacco in a consignment from Bangladesh. The goods were described as prepared or preserved meat and meat offal. They were destined for the Small Heath area of Birmingham. The duty evaded on the tobacco is estimated as £53,000. There were no documents or veterinary certificates with the meat load showing that it was fit for entry into the UK.
* Officers opened a load on 01/04/07 described as water pipes and found 1,077 kilos of fruit flavoured pipe tobacco. These illegal goods had originated from Egypt and were destined for a retail outlet in the North of England. The duty evaded is estimated at £70,000.
* A load described as wooden toy bricks arrived in Felixstowe on 3/04/07. Officers opened the consignment and found 4 million counterfeit cigarettes concealed inside. The goods were despatched from China and were due to be delivered to an address in Nottingham. The cigarettes had an estimated street value of £800,000.
* Officers uncovered what looked like a large quantity of designer sunglasses on 4th April, 2007. They included makes such as Lacoste, Prada, Oakley, Armani, Nike, Chanel, Gucci, D&G, Dior and Polo. When officers unpacked the load they found over £2.5 million worth of poor quality designer items. Originating in China they were destined for markets in coastal towns in Lincolnshire.
* A further batch of counterfeit cigarettes was found in a very clever concealment on 17 April 2007. They were in the bases of footstools and to recover them officers had to remove the feet and bottom of each stool with crow bars. In total an estimated 3 million Marlborough King-Size were found. The container originated from China.
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