Following extradition from Greece, 55 year old William Bullock McPhee was jailed for five years at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday 21 March 2006.  He was convicted of attempting to smuggle over 40 million cigarettes into the UK through Felixstowe International Port. His Honour Judge Ball QC described McPhee as "a persistently dishonest man who made a living from dishonest dealings".

Following extradition from Greece, 55 year old William Bullock McPhee was jailed for five years at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday 21 March 2006.  He was convicted of attempting to smuggle over 40 million cigarettes into the UK through Felixstowe International Port. His Honour Judge Ball QC described McPhee as "a persistently dishonest man who made a living from dishonest dealings".

The court heard that officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) intercepted seven containers over a two-year period during 2001 and 2002. When officers opened the containers, they found approximately seven million cigarettes in each one. There had been no attempt at concealment. The total Revenue evaded was £6,822,659.25

McPhee absconded before his first trial on 11 February 2002. He was arrested and extradited from Athens on 2 September 2005. In court he pleaded guilty to absconding from the original trial and pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Import Cigarettes.

HMRC acting Chief Investigating Officer John Phillips said:

 "This is an excellent result and demonstrates HMRC's continuing commitment to tackling tobacco smuggling. This was a well organised and sophisticated operation and proves  that tobacco smuggling is not a small scale, victimless crime. It can be highly organised and lucrative and we are working to tackle that threat.

Smokers who think that they are getting a bargain don't realise that this trade damages honest businesses, and costs billions in lost revenue, which could be funding public services.   I urge members of the public or  traders who are aware of  any suspicious activities that may be linked to tobacco smuggling to call our 24-hour confidential freephone number 0800 59 5000."

This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority, which reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases in England & Wales.

Counterfeit cigarettes are not simply cheap cigarettes in a counterfeit packet. The black market of selling counterfeit cigarettes goes beyond simply an illegal printing press knocking out forged cigarette cartons.

At a time when smoking is being banned from many public places and the dangers of cigarette smoking is widely advertised, counterfeit cigarettes contain carcinogenic chemicals such as lead and cadmium, at least five times higher than levels found in genuine branded cigarettes.

It has been known for newsagents to sell counterfeit cigarettes, knowingly or otherwise and the chances of detection by the average smoker may be very slim.

Counterfeit money detectors are plentiful; from counterfeit cash note detection pens through to dual checker counterfeit detection UV lamps that will pick-up forged notes and credit cards.

The good news is that almost every product has a unique fingerprint made up from molecular composition. Near infrared (NIR) can verify authenticity although it is highly unlikely that smokers and small corner shops will have access to them. Counterfeiting practice is on the increase and businesses will feel the financial impact, many are already investing in  NIR technology to combat counterfeiters.

NIR technology provides a way to cost-effectively determine counterfeits, an added benefit is that NIR counterfeit testing is non-destructive.