Pubdate: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 Source: Daily Record (UK) Copyright: 2002 Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd. Contact: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/111 Author: Sally Mclean Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) UKP 250K BOOTLEG WHISKY SWOOP 18,500 bottles found after swoop on truck SMUGGLED whisky worth more than UKP 250,000 has been seized after a Customs swoop on a lorry. Ten thousand bottles of bootleg Whyte&Mackay were discovered in the back of the 40-foot truck. Soon after, officers found 8500 more bottles stashed on an industrial estate. Customs said it was one of the biggest hauls of stolen whisky in Scotland. The lorry was stopped in Hillington, Glasgow, last week by police and Customs officers working on the Crime Braker campaign. The crackdown targets criminals who use the transport system, and has netted drugs, tobacco, alcohol and illegal goods worth more than UKP 1.7 million in just two weeks. Customs believe the seized Whyte&Mackay was stolen in Germany. The bottles found in the lorry, and on an industrial estate in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, would have netted UKP 145,000 in tax if they had been imported legally. Ron Barrie, of HM Customs and Excise, said yesterday: "We believe this whisky had been delivered to Germany when it was stolen and sent back to Scotland. "The lorry was targeted as a result of intelligence we had built up. We had a good idea about what we were going to find. "The success of the operation should send a clear message that we are not just interested in those coming through our airports and ports. "We are as interested as the police in what is being moved about our roads, and we are working with them to stop our transport system being used by criminal gangs." Week two of Crime Braker also saw major seizures of tobacco, cigarettes and drugs. Customs found more than 200,000 cigarettes, worth UKP 33,000, in separate raids at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick airports. They also netted UKP 16,000 worth of tobacco. Drug seizures by police over week two totalled UKP 790,000. In Strathclyde alone, heroin, ecstasy and cannabis valued at UKP 750,000 was uncovered. Officers from Northern Constabulary arrested a man with heroin worth UKP 40,000 on him. Counterfeit goods worth UKP 45,000, including DVDs, videos, CDs and computer games, were seized in a raid at East Fortune Market in East Lothian. And police in Lanarkshire recovered two stolen cars, a BMW and a Mitsubishi, worth UKP 66,000. Crime Braker, part of the Safer Scotland campaign, started on March 28 and will run for two months. The campaign has seen seizures of heroin worth UKP 647,000, cannabis worth UKP 465,000, amphetamines worth UKP 100,000, Ecstasy worth UKP 80,000 and cocaine worth UKP 1000. Officers have found cigarettes worth ?47,000and tobacco worth ?20,000. So far, 265 people have been arrested across Scotland. [SIDEBAR - TABLE] THE BIG SEIZURES SO FAR (in UKP) Heroin 647,000 Cannabis 465,000 Amphetamines 100,000 Ecstasy 80,000 Cocaine 1000 Tobacco 20,000 Cigarettes 47,000 Alcohol 250,000 Fake goods 45,000 Stolen property 66,000 - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl