A boom in the black-market sale of fake cigarettes could be funding organised crime gangs in the UK.
New figures show 11 out of 12 regions are reporting an increase in the illicit trade such compared to the previous 12 months, with Scotland seeing a rise of more than 20 per cent in a single year.
While Northern Ireland and the South East of England had seen rises of 15.9 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively.
The report also revealed the UK is ranked third out of 38 countries when it comes to volume of illicit tobacco products – with one in four smoked said to be contraband.
While London has seen a surge of 109 per cent since 2020, according to the data commissioned by Philip Morris International via KPMG.
Former Scotland Yard detective, Will O’Reilly, revealed undercover operatives had visited 60 retailers in the capital and more than half were openly selling harmful and unregulated smoking products.
New figures show 11 out of 12 regions are reporting an increase in the illicit trade such compared to the previous 12 months, with Scotland seeing a rise of more than 20 per cent in a single year.
While Northern Ireland and the South East of England had seen rises of 15.9 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively.
The report also revealed the UK is ranked third out of 38 countries when it comes to volume of illicit tobacco products – with one in four smoked said to be contraband.
While London has seen a surge of 109 per cent since 2020, according to the data commissioned by Philip Morris International via KPMG.
Former Scotland Yard detective, Will O’Reilly, revealed undercover operatives had visited 60 retailers in the capital and more than half were openly selling harmful and unregulated smoking products.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Illicit nicotine products encourage youth use and fuel serious crime in London. They
00:17can also contain potentially harmful ingredients and are in stark contrast to legitimate alternatives
00:23like heated tobacco and e-cigarettes that aren't risk-free but are a much better choice.
00:29Retailers are calling for sensible policies to ensure access to these legitimate products
00:34and also stronger law enforcement to tackle the illicit trade.
00:39It affects my community because it invites the wrong kind of people into the area. They
00:44have got no limited company licence, they're not paying business rates, they're not tracking
00:48trades registered. There's no chance we can compete against them.
00:52I think first and foremost is proper resources to law enforcement. We see them stretched
00:57right across the country now. Insufficient personnel, insufficient monetary budget to
01:01really make an impact on the illicit trade generally. If trading standards had more funds,
01:06more resources, then I'm sure they could have a big impact.