How was illegal tobacco used to lure young girls into crime?
Youngsters throughout the country are being recruited to carry
out smuggling missions for organised crime gangs.
Crime bosses behind the operation are preying on vulnerable
young girls with the promise of pocket money and an overnight
sunshine break in return for trafficking illegal tobacco into the
UK.
This worrying trend was highlighted by the recent case of four
North East schoolgirls, who were caught smuggling more than 200,000
illegal cigarettes back into the UK - estimated to be worth more
than £40,000 in excise duty and VAT alone.
The girls, aged just 15 and 16 at the time, jetted out from
Newcastle airport to various holiday resorts and returned to
different UK airports the following day with luggage packed full of
cigarettes.
The youngest girl, now aged 17, received a 12-month supervision
order while the others received a 12-month community order. They
narrowly avoided a jail sentence after the court heard that
underworld crime bosses had put them up to it.
Richard Ferry, Regional Tobacco Trading Standards Manager, said:
"This case really sends out a clear message to any young people
tempted to make a bit of money."
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