More than a billion illegal cigarettes were confiscated in the UK last year as criminal gangs increasingly exploited the country’s black market. Border Force alone intercepted 927 million cigarettes, marking a significant rise for the third consecutive year, reports BritPanorama.
Official statistics indicate that 783 million cigarettes were seized in the 2022-23 period, which escalated to 888 million the following year. When including the actions taken by HMRC, the total number of confiscated cigarettes reached 1.19 billion, valued at approximately £496 million. High taxation on tobacco products is driving this surge, with illicit packs being sold for as low as £4.50—roughly one-third the price of legal cigarettes.
Reform MP Lee Anderson remarked, “If Labour can’t stop lorries full of cigarettes, what chance have they got of controlling the flow of illegal immigration? Instead of protecting our country, they’ve taxed people into the hands of criminals.” This situation has positioned Britain as the third-largest consumer of illegal cigarettes in Europe, despite having one of the lowest smoking rates in the region.
A 2024 report by KPMG revealed that approximately one in four cigarettes smoked in the UK is illicit. HMRC acknowledged that £3.1 billion in excise tax was lost to smugglers, counterfeiters, and black-marketeers in 2024, with tobacco accounting for £1.4 billion and beer for £700 million.
Former Crime Stoppers International chief Shane Britten cautioned that smuggling routes utilized for tobacco could be diverted toward other illicit activities. He stated, “Cigarettes could become weapons or narcotics — or even people. For crime syndicates, the item they choose is a function of risk vs reward.”
