Crime does pay and very nicely. The amounts are only what can be discovered. I bet its alot more and the amount claimed back is just a drop in the ocean.

So a £60 fine and 3 points for doing 5mph over the speed limit, but a £1 fine for stealing nearly a quarter of a million pounds from the country.

The law is an ****!

If these people stole £236,000 then they should re-pay £236,000 the fact they have frittered it away is irrelevant.

Once again, a headline grabber made to make people angry.
The reality of it is that the Crims lost much more that that!

The initial cost outlay for the “1.5 tonnes of tobacco and 377,000 cigarettes”.
Anyone like to do the math with me? 200 fags at say, £10 for 200? £1,880 stock.
1.5 tonnes of tobacco at 250g packets is 6,000 packets. For ease I’ll use £10 again, so £60,000

All the bundles of cash wrapped in cling film were seized, including £87,290 from under the bed. (I see that the full total is not mentioned)!

So, from the monies declared in the Echo, and a bit of maths, we see that they have actually lost over £149,170.00.
The money does not get returned to the Crim you know! Anyone like to guess who get to keep it?

Who says crime paysÂ…Â…

the current rate for contraband is 35 for 200 or 5 for 50 gramme of tabboco

if you where to purchase tax paid the same brands are 57.50 for 200 and over 10 pounds for 50 grammes

its all about supply and demand some people view the suppliers as modern day robin hoods what would you rather pay for the same product?

i for one if i was still a smoker right or wrong would know my decision !!!

Woe betide these criminals if they try paying their charge with a counterfeit £1 coin!
Not in for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose!

Tax is legal theft by the government, smokers pay more tax than on any other product manufactured, what's happening as more people eventually give up mainly due to the cost, and being now treated as second class citizens because we smoke!! Where do you think they get the tax from now?? Wondering why petrol is still high now? Good on them if they can get away with it, why should we have to pay over twice the price of the rest of Europe for the same **** thing!! Why is the Government still allowed to steal money from us in this way and so blatently?

DawnD wrote:
Tax is legal theft by the government, smokers pay more tax than on any other product manufactured, what's happening as more people eventually give up mainly due to the cost, and being now treated as second class citizens because we smoke!! Where do you think they get the tax from now?? Wondering why petrol is still high now? Good on them if they can get away with it, why should we have to pay over twice the price of the rest of Europe for the same **** thing!! Why is the Government still allowed to steal money from us in this way and so blatently?

the brands i mentioned im my post can be bought in europe for as little as 8 euro for 200

these are still being sold at profit, yet they are manufactured in EXACTLY the same factory here in the United Kingdom shipped to Europe and still sold at profit

as i said if i was still a smoker i know full well where my purchase would be made Sadly we live in rip of Britain and as you so rightly said about the fuel prices the barrel prices have dropped yet fuel, still is as high as it was weeks ago they are quick to raise the prices yet reluctant to drop the prices

Fair play to them. As said why get robbed by the gov. these people where doing smokers a favor and saving them a few quid .

The CPS should be made to explain why they agreed to settle for so little. Why could'nt sequestration orders be put on future incomes and benefits?

im off to france does anyone want to place an order !!!!!








lol

thank you very much for the comments made in support of our case. You all have to remember that you are all being told only one side of the story. The facts are not as it seems in this report.Me and my family have suffered after being accused of a load of old tosh throughout this ordeal.I'm just sick of the crap the media snd customs have put us through.

DawnD wrote:
Tax is legal theft by the government, smokers pay more tax than on any other product manufactured, what's happening as more people eventually give up mainly due to the cost, and being now treated as second class citizens because we smoke!! Where do you think they get the tax from now?? Wondering why petrol is still high now? Good on them if they can get away with it, why should we have to pay over twice the price of the rest of Europe for the same **** thing!! Why is the Government still allowed to steal money from us in this way and so blatently?

So you should be taxed for smoking!I suppose you expect us non smokers to cough up for the immense strain on the NHS for lung and throat cancer, heart disease and all manner of bronchial problems!It's only 15 months ago since the ban. Before that, if I fancied a pint I had to breath in all that filth.Now at least I'm chuckling to see you lot freezing your wotsits off outside. And yes, I am quite prepared to pay the tax on my-approx-10 pints a week, for the harm it might cause.They were lucky. They broke the law and got caught and should have paid a greater price, like 5 years sweeping fag butts off the street.

dc addict wrote:

DawnD wrote:
Tax is legal theft by the government, smokers pay more tax than on any other product manufactured, what's happening as more people eventually give up mainly due to the cost, and being now treated as second class citizens because we smoke!! Where do you think they get the tax from now?? Wondering why petrol is still high now? Good on them if they can get away with it, why should we have to pay over twice the price of the rest of Europe for the same **** thing!! Why is the Government still allowed to steal money from us in this way and so blatently?

So you should be taxed for smoking!I suppose you expect us non smokers to cough up for the immense strain on the NHS for lung and throat cancer, heart disease and all manner of bronchial problems!It's only 15 months ago since the ban. Before that, if I fancied a pint I had to breath in all that filth.Now at least I'm chuckling to see you lot freezing your wotsits off outside. And yes, I am quite prepared to pay the tax on my-approx-10 pints a week, for the harm it might cause.They were lucky. They broke the law and got caught and should have paid a greater price, like 5 years sweeping fag butts off the street.

Your right, I wish we all got 5 years sweeping fag buts off the street. I got 18 months prison, away from my family all for the sake of cashing a cheque for my brother, whom was found guilty{although alleges his innocence} serves his 4 year sentence and has to put up with the crap the media writes while his own family and friends suffer.

Hang on. 377,000 cigs, one and a half tonnes of tobacco. A warehouse full. Not selling a few cigs for small amount of money is it?? Going to France, getting a few cigs etc, and selling a bit to pay for cost of ferry, is one thing.
This is not only duty fraud, it's undeclared vat and income tax fraud. We all pay too much tax, but there is a difference between paying some, and paying none.
If everyone took this attitude, who would pay for hospitals, schools etc?? Or do those praising also think working and signing on is ok?? It's all fraud.

If they haven't got the money to pay, perhaps their ingenuity in hiding it from the authorities should be put to good use and they could advise the Government in the present economic climate.

To set the record straight, I didn't say I didn't agree with us being taxed, It's the amount of tax I have an issue with, as for the NHS comment, if we all quit tomorrow the NHS and the Government would collapse through lack of funds, as for the pub comment I agree it was unpleasant to go into a pub full of smoke, even I as a smoker didnt like it, but they should have made it equal, smoking and non smoking pubs, instead of taking away our freedom to choose why not give everyone an equal option. This is after all an equal society is it not, where we all have rights smokers or not!!

wayne hopkins wrote:
Hang on. 377,000 cigs, one and a half tonnes of tobacco. A warehouse full. Not selling a few cigs for small amount of money is it?? Going to France, getting a few cigs etc, and selling a bit to pay for cost of ferry, is one thing.
This is not only duty fraud, it's undeclared vat and income tax fraud. We all pay too much tax, but there is a difference between paying some, and paying none.
If everyone took this attitude, who would pay for hospitals, schools etc?? Or do those praising also think working and signing on is ok?? It's all fraud.

Exactly,but nobody cares a **** nowadays,when it comes to working and signing the general attitude is "good luck to them,not my business".Most of the public know someone who is fiddling,but turn a blind eye,eg,someone under pension age,but at the same time running a 4x4,regular holidays,some abroad,and living well,when as "dancing dog" says he cant manage it when working,whos right or wrong.