Categories
· Cross-Border/Crime
· Roll-your-own
non-USA, by Country
· UK
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Jump to full article: Glasgow Herald (uk), 2007-10-20
Author: ALISON CHIESA
Intro: Smokers were yesterday warned to be wary of buying poor-quality counterfeit tobacco after customs officers raided a factory' in Glasgow.
A flat in Hill Street was searched and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) confiscated nearly 170kg of illicit "Golden Virginia" tobacco.
Alongside the haul were wrappers, cellophane and duty stamps aimed at misleading smokers into thinking they were buying genuine hand- rolled tobacco.
AnnMarie Symes, a detective with HMRC Scotland, said: "This was a sophisticated operation with the manufacturers touting tobacco around the city, claiming it was cheap duty free. The reality is that the product was extremely poor quality tobacco with loose tea added to bulk it up. People who produce counterfeit tobacco undercut honest businesses, deprive the UK of funding and con their customers.
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