Three men and a woman have been arrested and tobacco worth an estimated £287,000 was seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) last Friday (12 September).

HMRC officers searched three private addresses in the Glasgow and Fife areas where they seized over a tonne of hand rolling tobacco, tobacco shredding machinery and boxes of counterfeit packaging.

All four were charged and have been released pending further enquiries and a report to the Procurator Fiscal.

Two men aged 37 and 33, one woman aged 31 from Glasgow and one man from Fife aged 48, were charged under the Customs & Excise Management Act1979, section 170 offences.

David Odd, assistant director, criminal investigation, HMRC, said: “Tobacco crime undermines legitimate producers and retailers and has a serious and detrimental impact on our communities.”

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