HM Customs seize tobacco in Gibraltar at land frontier

ON the evening of Sunday October 18, officers of HM Customs seized a vehicle with Gibraltar number plates which was loaded with 350 cartons of cigarettes at the land frontier.

Officers had noticed that the driver of the vehicle became increasingly nervous and drove erratically, skipping two sets of traffic lights when he observed that the Customs patrol vehicle was directly behind him.

His car was stopped and both the driver and passenger were cautioned. A preliminary search of the boot revealed that there was a quantity of cigarettes concealed under the spare wheel of the vehicle.

A more thorough inspection of the vehicle revealed a total of 350 cartons of cigarettes concealed within the engine compartment and other areas of the vehicle with an approximate value of £7,000.

Both the driver, a 20-year-old British national, and the passenger in the vehicle, a 39-year-old British national, were arrested and bailed until December 28.