CUSTOMS officers hope to have reduced the supply of cheap black market cigarettes available over Christmas after arresting two suspected smugglers.

A man and a woman, who landed at Newcastle Airport from Tenerife early yesterday, were seized after officers found almost 300,000 cigarettes in ten bags and suitcases.

The pair, both from Newcastle's west end, were questioned at the city's Etal Lane police station and released pending further inquiries.

A spokesman for HM Customs and Revenue said: "We know that flights from the Canary Islands to Newcastle are frequently used by cigarette smuggling gangs and in the run-up to Christmas, these smugglers are obviously trying to step up their activity.

"These illegal cigarettes are likely to be destined for sale on the region's black market over the festive season, but we are committed to stopping these smugglers from making a profit from this criminal activity.

"Cigarette smuggling deprives public services, such as schools and hospitals, of vital funding that goes straight into the criminals' pockets instead of into these crucial services."

Last week, officers seized 400,000 cigarettes at the airport in similar circumstances.

The Canary Islands are outside the EU and travellers can only bring 200 duty-free cigarettes back to this country.

Customs "guidelines'' are that travellers within the EU - except for some of the new Eastern European countries - can bring back 3,200 cigarettes - paying duty and tax in the country where they are bought - provided they are for personal use or a gift.