Cigarettes and tobacco worth half a million pounds seized by Cambridgeshire Police
It’s estimated the duty alone on the haul would have been £426,735.
Cambridgeshire Police seized around half a million pounds worth of cigarettes and tobacco after stopping a lorry in Huntingdon.
The lorry was initially stopped after concerns over human trafficking.
A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said: “It all started on 6 October with a call from a member of the public about suspicious activity surrounding a HGV in Glebe Road, Huntingdon.
“Officers attended, initially suspecting the incident could be linked to human trafficking.
“Instead, they discovered more than 14,000 packets of tobacco and 95,000 cigarettes in the back of the HGV.
“With the help of officers from HMRC the items were seized and valued. It’s estimated the duty alone on the haul would have been a staggering £426,735.
“A HMRC-led investigation is ongoing.
“Thank you to the member of the public who initially suspected an incident of human trafficking. Although no evidence of this was uncovered, it was clearly the right thing to do.”