Almost 35,000 litres of illicit beer, wine and spirits have been seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Scotland as HMRC’s alcohol taskforce officers target illegal sales across that country.
More than 50 staff from HMRC, North Lanarkshire Trading Standards and Police Scotland visited a number of premises in North Lanarkshire and Glasgow, where the illicit alcohol was seized. A 41-year-old man was detained by HMRC in North Lanarkshire for suspected duty evasion and will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal. In total 23,070 litres of beer, 5,800 litres of wine and 6,160 litres of spirits were seized during the op, on Friday, August 23.
Chris Brett, HMRC’s Alcohol Taskforce manager in Scotland, said: “The North Lanarkshire operation is part of ongoing work with our partner agencies to target the illicit alcohol supply chain, including producers, storage facilities, wholesalers and retailers, to combat this crime. We are also keen to work closely with, and support, local businesses that have to compete against these illegal sales.
“Anyone handling or selling smuggled alcohol should be aware that HMRC teams are active across Scotland. We are committed to stopping this criminal activity, which costs the taxpayer around £1.2 billion in unpaid revenue each year. HMRC and the other agencies involved will now consider further action against offenders, including full tax and VAT investigations and a review of alcohol and other trading licenses.
“If you are aware of someone who is evading their taxes you can call HMRC’s Tax Evasion Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
North Lanarkshire’s Councillor Helen McKenna said: “Our Trading Standards officers will continue to work closely with HMRC to ensure that consumers and legitimate North Lanarkshire traders are protected from the impact of this illegal activity.”
And Chief Inspector Gerry Findlay, Motherwell Police Office, said: “I am delighted that this operation took place in the Lanarkshire area and the successful outcome demonstrates how effective information sharing and partnership working can be.
“This work saw police officers from Lanarkshire, staff from HMRC and Licensing Standards officers from the local authority visiting premises and detecting offenders who illegally trade in alcohol and use the proceeds to fund crime. This type of activity has a detrimental impact on Lanarkshire’s honest retailers and we are determined to disrupt this behaviour wherever possible.
“The operation is one of the largest of its kind in Scotland and other similar operations will be carried out in the future to tackle businesses that are operating unlawfully.”
Taskforces are described by HMRC as specialist teams that undertake bursts of activity in specific high-risk trade sectors and locations in the UK. The teams visit traders to examine their records and carry out other investigations. The alcohol taskforce in Scotland is expected to bring in around £4m. Previous taskforces in Scotland targeted restaurants, fast food outlets, scrap metal dealers, landlords and pubs and nightclubs.
