THURROCK Council’s trading standards team working with Border Force have intercepted a container containing smuggled alcohol and cosmetics at Tilbury docks.
This work is part of a nationwide market surveillance at ports project, looking at unsafe products being imported or smuggled into the country. The team found a number of brown boxes hidden at the back of a container declared as containing Gari flour.
The boxes contained large amounts of high strength alcohol (two pallets) and four pallets of cosmetic products not fit for sale on the UK market.
The alcohol – 564 bottles of 42 per cent proof liquid – was seized by Border Force. Tax due on the bottles is estimated at £5,000.
The relevant duty on the undeclared cosmetic products is also being charged and is estimated at £300.
The non-compliant 10,760 bottles were referred to the local trading standards department of the London-based importer to oversee re-labelling.
The cosmetics were moisturisers not fit for sale in the UK. In all there were 1,500 500ml pots and 9,264 250ml pots.
The container had come into the London Container Terminal, Tilbury, from West Africa and the goods were seized on Saturday, 14 March.
