CUSTOMS officials at Killingholme have got the force to curb smuggling – and have received a governmental stamp of approval.
The Minister of State for Immigration, Mark Harper, personally thanked officers from the Border Force at the port after a series of successful seizures, when he visited a container yard yesterday.
He saw close-up the technology used to identify smuggled contraband goods.
And he had a special pat on the back for sniffer dog Norman, who has detected 11 tonnes of illegally imported tobacco and seven million cigarettes in the past year.
A £1 million scanner which takes an X-ray of containers was demonstrated to the minister, who was accompanied by Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers.
His visit follows two seizures at Immingham Docks with a combined total of 5.3 million counterfeit cigarettes, as reported.
They had been sent from The Hook of Holland last month.
The first seizure on June 11 involved about 2.5 million cigarettes concealed in a trailer listed as containing ready-mix plaster. The second seizure, the following day, involved 2.8 million cigarettes hidden in a container labelled as central heating boilers.
Had the smugglers succeeded, they would have cost the UK about £1.2 million in unpaid VAT and excise duty.
Last summer, the Border Force smashed a multi-million-pound cocaine route running from South America to Lincolnshire.
Officers at Immingham intercepted more than 70 kilos of cocaine with a potential street value of £6.5 million in three separate seizures in June and August.
In a container yard at Killingholme, the minister said: "It is a constant battle. Our Border Force officers are using intelligence and the latest technology to combat smugglers.
"On this site over the last month we have had two very successful seizures of 5.3 million cigarettes which means about £1 million of revenue protected and keeping the UK safe from those that are trying to take advantage. We work with port operators and haulage operators and have a good relationship with them.
"We want to facilitate lawful operators, so for those businesses importing and exporting products, we want to help them run their businesses and at the same time combat those who are breaking the law. It is about getting both parts of the equation right. It is part of the growth agenda to help Britain grow and clamp down on those who are trying to do us harm."
