COUNTERFEIT booze and tobacco worth thousands of pounds has been seized from shops across Ealing.
A joint operation was led by Ealing Police, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the borough council’s Licensing team.
Wine, spirits, beers and tobacco which had not had duty paid on them were seized from 15 off-licence premises across the area.
The haul included more than 450 litres of spirits, 7,960 cigarettes, 420 litres of beer and nine kilograms of tobacco.
Bob Gaiger, HMRC spokesman, said: “Alcohol and tobacco fraud harms honest businesses, costs jobs, and takes money away from public services and, increasingly, it is run by highly organised criminal gangs.
“We would encourage anyone who knows of someone selling cheap or duty free alcohol or tobacco to contact the customs hotline on 0800 59 5000 or email customs.hotline@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.”
