A member of Will O’Reilly’s investigative team purchases illicit cigarettes from a seller in Enniskillen RMG25
FERMANAGH smokers are being warned against the dangers of buying illegal tobacco, which can contain anything from arsenic to human faeces, and which helps fund organised crime.
The Fermanagh Herald joined former Detective Chief Inspector from Scotland Yard, Will O’Reilly, who was in Enniskillen last week on an investigation into the illicit tobacco trade in the area. In just one day Mr O’Reilly and his team were able to purchase ‘under-the-counter’ cigarettes at several different locations within the town.
Mr O’Reilly said they were unsurprised by the ease with which they were able to purchase the cigarettes as, in the course of their investigations, they found the illegal tobacco trade to be rampant in border areas both North and South.
“We find illicit whites are much more prevalent in Northern Ireland as a whole, but particularly in the border areas because it is organised crime and dissident groups who are behind it,” he said, adding they had also found illegal cigarettes being sold “in every town and village of Donegal.”
Mr O’Reilly, who said this was the first time they had investigated the issue in Fermanagh, explained there were three different types of illicit tobacco. He said: “The first is counterfeit, which is not genuine but are made to look real. The second is contraband, which is legal in other countries but smuggled into the UK illegally.
“The third is what we call ‘illicit whites’ which are cigarettes that are specifically made for smuggling and have made up names and so on. Illicit whites are smuggled into the country by the container by organised gangs. Cigarettes aren’t healthy to begin with, but some of these are very dangerous.
“They have been found to contain lead, arsenic, rat droppings and even human faeces. They also don’t have fire retardants, like legal cigarettes, and have in the past caused house fires and deaths,” he added.
Mr O’Reilly said that between the three different types of illicit tobacco, the total loss to the Revenue each year was £2.1 billion. “That’s approximately £300 per family, per year that needs to be made up in taxes due to the shortfall,” he explained, adding he understood the temptation to go for the cheaper option.
“I can understand that in times of austerity people look towards the black market for many things, but they should be aware of the significant risks involved. They should also realise they’re funding criminal gangs and dissident groups.
“Also, especially in a small community like Fermanagh, they should remember it’s the small local retailers who are also losing out as well as the Revenue. If you have one small shop in an area, a lot of its footfall may be tobacco driven, and they are losing that.”
Mr O’Reilly now works on behalf of Philip Morris International, however his team liaise with the authorities regarding any illicit tobacco they encounter in the local areas. The tobacco purchased by his team will now be sent to England for analysis and will be reported to the HMRC.
A spokesman for HMRC said such operations were valuable to their work cracking down on the illegal tobacco trade. “HMRC uses information gathered from a vast range of sources, including tobacco manufacturers and from intelligence driven activities, with other enforcement agencies overseas, at the border and in the UK,” they said. “These sources help us to continually evaluate the threats and size of the illicit market in tobacco products.
“HMRC, working with other enforcement agencies, has more than halved the size of the illicit market in cigarettes since 2000; in the last two years alone, over 3 billion illicit cigarettes and over 580 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized. Tobacco smugglers are constantly adapting to the huge downward pressure HMRC puts them under. That pressure has caused the long term decline of this illegal trade. We relentlessly pursue and disrupt criminal businesses to clamp down on this illicit trade.
“We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”
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