Three people have been arrested after £5 million of illicit tobacco and cash was allegedly seized at a house in South Bucks that investigators think was being run by a criminal gang.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers seized tobacco worth an estimated £5 million in evaded duty and VAT at an "illicit tobacco factory".
The processing plant is believed to have been run by an organised crime gang and was raided on Tuesday, August 11.
Because of an ongoing investigation, HMRC won't say exactly where the house in question is - confirming only it is in the south of the county near the border with Slough.
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Two men and one woman were arrested in the raid on Tuesday and the house was searched.
Around 15 tonnes of processed and unprocessed tobacco was seized along with a "substantial" amount of tobacco manufacturing and processing machinery.
One tobacco shredding machine was too big to be taken away and had to be dismantled.
Around £3,000 in cash, false tax stamps and fake tobacco packaging was also seized.
The arrested men, aged 56 and 20, and the woman, 28, all from Bucks, were arrested and questioned and have been released under investigation while the HMRC probe continues.
Richard Mayer, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Trade in illegal tobacco comes at a cost as it often funds wider organised crime that causes real harm to our communities, undermines legitimate traders, and takes funding away from our vital public services.
"That’s why we work with Thames Valley Police and other agencies to disrupt criminal trade, which is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit tobacco market.
“We encourage anyone with information regarding the production, smuggling, storage or sale of illicit tobacco to report it to HMRC online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
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