Pounds 800k Docks cigarette carriage removed.

Cheap contraband cigarettes from the retail value of about 800,000 pounds had been recovered by HM Customs and Excise in Belfast.

In 3175400 counterfeit cigarettes were found on board a ship arriving in Belfast Docks from China during the week.

In cheap Superkings cigarettes were smuggled inside lead-lined boxes, which are used to transport a glass plate.

There have been no arrests, but the circumstances surrounding the party is currently being investigated.

HM Customs head of detection for Northern Ireland, Colin McAllister explained he was not only capture them in recent times.

"This was a well-organized and sophisticated smuggling attempt and demonstrates HMRC's commitment to fight tobacco smuggling," he said.

"A large amount of cheap cigarettes seized at Belfast Docks, which follows from the recent seizures of 400,000 cigarettes in Northern Ireland's airports since the beginning of December, shows that the smuggling of tobacco products, not on a small scale, victimless crime. It can be highly organized and profitable, and we are working to combat this menace. "

Mr. McAllister also encouraged smokers to buy cigarettes, they are not suspected of illegal.

"Smokers who think they are a bargain do not understand that this is fair trade losses of the company, the cost of billions of dollars of lost revenue and lines the pockets of criminals instead of funding public services," he explained.

"If smokers buy cigarettes, then there is a strong likelihood that they will buy cheap counterfeit cigarettes.

"So if you're tempted to buy cheap cigarettes on the street or in a bar - what you are doing is not only the financing of organized crime, it can be more dangerous for your health than cigarettes real cheap."