Police praise hauliers part in alcohol. smuggling tip-off
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THE CENTRAL Motorway Police Group (CMPG) has praised the haulage industry for helping to foil a smuggling operation in Wolverhampton involving the illegal importation of alcohol.
CV lead at the CMPG, Steve Rounds, says: "On 22 February, a tip-off from a truck driver about a smuggling operation was received during Operation Stammtisch our monthly informal get-together between police officers and lorry drivers."
He adds: "Customs acted on this information and discovered a self-storage unit containing 1:300,000 worth of illegally imported spirits.
truck on false number plates and
a Mercecics-liciv van were also lound at the scene."
According to I IM Revenue & Customs, the load had been smuggled into the UK without paying £100,000 in excise duty.
Although the investigation is still ongoing. and no arrests have yet been made, Rounds says: "We want to send out a thank you to the British haulage industry this shows how we can act on inside information and fight crime together."
Meanwhile, Gwent Police became the latest constabulary to sign up to participate in Operation Stammtisch.'llte Welsh force joins South Yorkshire Police, which signed up in November 2009.