The dark truth behind your cheap cigarettes - Behind The Investigation | BBC News

Investigation findings

Counterfeit cigarettes are a large, organised criminal business—not simply duty-unpaid tobacco smuggled into the UK. Jane Deith estimates that one in six cigarettes smoked in Britain is fake. Customs and police have uncovered factories in Belgium and the UK producing cigarettes to order, with packaging and brands aimed at British buyers.

An undercover team buying cigarettes in Liverpool found illicit products readily available in shops and other outlets. Deith says the trade is nationwide. HMRC and Border Force seized 1.9 billion illicit cigarettes in a year, though this is thought to represent only part of the market.

Factories and exploitation

Belgian customs invited the BBC to observe a raid near Brussels. The factory contained production and packaging equipment, UK-branded products and labels bearing UK addresses. Workers reportedly lived and worked on site and were not free to leave. Deith says Polish criminal gangs have been prominent in the trade and have shifted operations west as authorities cracked down on factories in Poland and nearby countries.

A separate factory discovered in rural South Yorkshire was producing millions of counterfeit cigarettes. Thirteen Chinese workers were found there; support workers suspected they had been trafficked and forced to work. Some said they had expected legal jobs in the UK, but a recruiter took their passports and did not return them.

A South American man, identified under the pseudonym “Emerson”, also described being trapped in a Belgian factory and made to work long hours.

Scale and impact of the trade

The factories require substantial investment, with equipment costing at least £1 million. Gangs may establish several sites at once in anticipation of raids.

Britain is an attractive market because cigarettes are expensive, demand for cheaper products is substantial, and the penalties for cigarette smuggling can be less severe than for trafficking drugs. Deith says profits may be used to finance other crimes, including weapons and people smuggling.

Violence and enforcement

The investigation also highlights the violence behind the trade. Deith describes threats against workers and gang members, and recounts the fatal abduction and killing of a man blamed by his gang for losing cigarettes in an HMRC raid.

Buyers may not realise their cigarettes are counterfeit, or may assume the only consequence is lost tax revenue. The investigation argues that cheap cigarettes can be linked to exploitation and serious organised crime.

The UK government points to seizures and cross-border enforcement, and says a narrowing tax gap suggests its efforts are having some effect.

Presenters and contributors

• Melanie Stewart-Smith — presenter
• Jane Deith — File on 4 Investigates reporter
• Paul Grant — producer
• Anna Holligan — BBC Europe reporter
• Rachel — Snowdrop Project worker interviewed about the rescued workers
• “Emerson” — pseudonym for a former factory worker interviewed in the investigation