HM Revenue & Customs Head of Detection John Kinghorn yesterday warned Britons to shun buying so-called black market ?duty free? cigarettes after seizing 7m worth some $1m ($1.9m).

The warning followed the seizure of more than 7m counterfeit cigarettes during raids in the Easington area of County Durham in the UK and Customs now says that the north east of England is one of the worst areas in the UK for smuggling cigarettes.
Customs officers said organised criminal gangs were behind the smuggling with the haul said to be worth more than ?1m ($1.9m).
?This seizure shows that the region is playing host to the organised criminal gangs who are behind the high levels of smuggling crime,? said Kinghorn.?Some people assume that cigarette smuggling is a fairly low-level crime and often the public turn a blind eye to it, but what they don't realise is that this activity means big business for criminals and their gangs.?
Kinghorn added that cigarette smuggling often provided the cash for much larger criminal operations, such as drug smuggling or people trafficking.?I want to strongly discourage the public in the North East from buying cheap or duty free cigarettes or tobacco.?
He also warned of the health dangers of smoking counterfeit cigarettes and the difficulties associated with telling the difference between a genuine and a counterfeit cigarette.