N-E 'is blackspot for cigarette smuggling'

Indeed, in October it selected the region for its first publicity campaign, designed to make smugglers realise that they risked being caught.

The service said that up to 80 per cent of Britain's smuggled cigarettes come in freight, usually through seaports, trafficked by gangs with links to manufacturers in China, the Middle-East, the former Soviet states, the Balkans and Africa.

Customs' North-East of England spokesman Rob Hastings-Trew said: "This is a big organised business. Between 70 and 80 per cent of smuggled tobacco coming into this country is brought in by organised and violent gangs.

"These are the same people who smuggle drugs and the process of smuggling is similar. As with any of these things, they require distribution networks, and the big boys at the top know how to organise them."

Another source of smuggled cigarettes is people with no connection to organised crime. They want cheap cigarettes for personal use or to sell them for a small profit at home.

Customs say the contraband is sold at outlets including pubs, clubs, and from homes. Even some shopkeepers sell contraband cigarettes.

Ice cream vans are used to target young people. In one raid in Northern England, Customs officers discovered vans containing packets with only two or three cigarettes each - "starter packs" for youngsters.

Mr Hastings-Trew said: "The packets are designed to attract children. They are the smugglers' customers of tomorrow."

There is also a serious health risk. According to Customs, some of the cigarettes manufactured abroad have higher than normal tar levels, which increases the chance of contracting lung cancer.

Mr Hastings-Trew said: "The North is seen as a considerable market because of socio-economic factors.

"If people living on benefit are faced with a choice between a packet of cigarettes costing £2 and one costing £4, they are going to choose the cheaper.

"And all this is happening at a time when we are seeing an increase in smoking, particularly among young girls, and when lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the largest cause of cancer-related deaths among women."

Customs successes

CUSTOMS seize millions of cigarettes a year, helped by a combination of intelligence operations and scanners which can see inside containers coming through ports.

Mr Hastings-Trew said: "The North-East is targeted by cigarette smugglers. Our message to those who handle smuggled cigarettes is 'Customs will catch you and you will be punished'."

Recent successes have included:

* November 2002: In a five-day operation, 50 officers visited 347 premises in Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and Darlington, and seized 506,440 cigarettes, 111.49 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco, and three vehicles which had been used to transport smuggled tobacco. Three arrests were made.

* December 2002: Mark Stokle, 39, of Pinewood Close, Hartlepool, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail at Teesside Crown Court, having pleaded guilty to two counts of evading Customs duty on smuggled cigarettes.

* December 2002: Nashtar Singh, 35, of The Wynd, Wynyard Park, Billingham, Teesside, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to four years in jail for his part in helping to smuggle up to 75 million cigarettes.

* December 2002: A three-day operation on Teesside, involving a significant number of Customs officers, resulted in the seizure of nearly 70,000 cigarettes and 18 kilos of tobacco, along with beer, wine and spirits. Officers visited homes, pubs and clubs, and mounted exercises at Teesside Airport and Teesport Docks.

* December 2002: A five-day operation throughout the Newcastle area, involving 30 Customs officers, resulted in the seizure of 288,295 cigarettes, 1,204 cigars, 255 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco and a large quantity of contraband alcohol. Officers made 35 seizures from houses, pubs, clubs and shop.