The Treasury earned GBP 1.35 billion last year after smokers were forced to buy legal cigarettes because Covid made smuggling almost impossible, reports Express.

The “welcome side-effect” of travel and border restrictions made it more difficult for organised crime networks and people importing duty-free cigarettes.
HMRC estimates that the sale of illegal tobacco products has resulted in a tax revenue loss of more than GBP 47 billion since 2000, the report said.
Howard Pugh, a retired Europol and HMRC investigator, said it is heavily connected to organised crime. "Organised crime groups see it as an easy form of income as profits from excise fraud are large, but sanctions, if caught, are low risk and could be just a fine or relatively short sentences.” According to Pugh, 20 years ago, most illegal goods were sent from China in shipping containers, but since 2010 more illegal factories have sprung up in eastern Europe.