Lowestoft man arrested after 60,000 cigarettes found in van
A 60-year-old Lowestoft man has been arrested on the suspicion of evasion of duty after police found 60,000 smuggled Russian cigarettes in the van he was driving.
The businessman was arrested on Monday after the cigarettes, worth �24,000, was discovered in the back of his van on the A12 at Woodbridge.
Police also found �33,000 of used euro notes.
The van was stopped by the police's automatic number plate recognition intercept team.
Officers from HM Revenue & Customs were called in to help with the investigation and a further quantity of cash and Russian cigarettes were found in business premises linked to the man.
The 60-year-old man has been bailed to return to Lowestoft police station on April 4.
Illegal smuggling of cigarettes in the country costs the government about �3bn in lost revenue.
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Anyone who has information on cigarette or tobacco smuggling can call a customs hotline on 0800 59 5000 or email customs.hotline@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
