- Enlarged EU opens Scotland to more contraband and people-smuggling
- Customs and Excise say they lack the resources to tackle growing crime
- Criminal gangs in Russia and the Balkans see Western Europe as a marketplace for trafficking in everything from cigarettes to people
The expansion of the European Union will leave Scotland exposed to large-scale people-trafficking and a flood of counterfeit goods and contraband materials, according to Customs and Excise officers who warn that they lack the resources to fight the influx.
In the wake of their parallel expansions across Europe, both NATO and the European Union have admitted they face a mounting challenge securing their new frontiers in the face of not only terrorism but large-scale organised crime.
The Scotsman has learned that both police and customs officers north of the Border are increasingly concerned over the widespread trade in illegal goods across Scotland, particularly the proliferation of cigarette and alcohol smuggling.
A senior Customs and Excise source in Scotland said that the growth in market trading and car-boot sales was making the trade in counterfeit goods increasingly lucrative.
"Scotland’s black economy is often spoken about, but the impact is normally misunderstood," he said. "From an economic perspective, the illicit sale of contraband cigarettes and alcohol costs the taxpayer billions every year. That is the scale of the problem we are dealing with.
"Trading Standards officers are struggling to combat the sale of illegally imported goods in newsagents and markets, and on the counterfeiting side the trade in fake clothing and DVDs has boomed in Scotland. In most cases, these operations are funded with drug money, so the more counterfeit goods are on the streets the more money drug-dealers and organised criminal gangs make, which is a very real concern."
He added: "Another phenomenon we are seeing, as was recently highlighted in Morecambe, is a marked increase in illegal immigrants, particularly Chinese nationals, coming into the country. One of the biggest Home Office concerns is the fact that an expanded European Union and looser border controls will effectively allow a faster track to the UK."
"In the scheme of things at present, human trafficking has become one of the most lucrative illegal enterprises in Europe, and major criminal gangs, particularly from Russia and the Balkans, are at the centre of the problem."
"The reality is criminals who smuggle cigarettes and alcohol into Britain have branched out to smuggle people. To these organisations, human beings are just like anything else, a commodity to make money from."
The latest research from the World Customs Organisation revealed the UK has become the prime destination for smuggled cigarettes and contraband alcohol into Europe. As the illegal trade swamps the UK, Customs and Excise recently announced record seizure figures; some 2.8 billion cigarettes seized in 12 months, up nearly a billion on the year before. However, the reality is the seizures represent only 10 per cent of the illegal cigarettes entering the UK.
Graeme Pearson, the new head of the Scottish Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SSOCA), believes that tackling intelligent and highly organised criminals will be one of the toughest challenges his revamped organisation faces.
"The expansion of the EU creates concerns for police organisations. We can no longer take a simplistic view. We are focusing many of our investigations on highly educated professionals, such as accountants, lawyers and estate agents, whom criminals can use, either wittingly or unwittingly, to launder their money, and this includes gangs."
According to the pan-European police intelligence organisation, Europol, their priority is the western Balkans. The Balkans is a focal point for international organised crime and trafficking.
Illegal smuggling routes originating in and around central Asia and the Far East have spread and are perpetuated by porous borders, corruption and weak state institutions. These channels are shared by criminal groups, including Albanian and Russian syndicates that trade in everything from drugs to human beings.
A Europol spokesman said: "Until now, the countries of the Balkans have struggled to formulate local responses to trafficking and organised crime. Gradually, regional policymakers are recognising the need for a broader framework for stability, but, as things stand, there are many problems."
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