§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to combat the rise in smuggling of alcohol. [117348]
§ Dawn PrimaroloFollowing the March Budget, I announced a further £209 million for Customs to clamp down on excise smuggling. This will enable them to employ nearly 1,000 extra Customs officers, working at ports and inland, including additional special investigators and intelligence staff.
463WWithin this figure an amount of £23 million will be allocated for Customs to fund a national network of x-ray scanners designed to detect smuggling in freight.