.... And They'll Call This Justice?

It's been a long time since we were in court for a Condemnation Case brought by the UKBA/HMRC. Our own fights with UKBA/HMRC have never reached this stage as we've won them all before it got to court.

Even a blind man could see that the couple have no case to answer and there is no evidence whatsoever against them. Just a formality then? .. they'll go to court and justice will be done and they'll get their goods back, right?

Well er, no actually. Firstly the UKBA refused to supply photocopies of the officers notebooks. Then, about a week ago, one of the couple fell ill and was bedridden so they applied for an adjournment. They supplied doctors sick note and diagnosis to accompany the request for an adjournment. lt was refused!!!!!!!

We expect the same response for the request of a McKenzie friend (they can't afford legal representation)

So, this person has to drag himself out of bed, doped up on medication and then attempt with the aid of walking sticks to drag himself into court knowing he has lost a week that he was virtually unable to prepare for the case ... and they call this justice?????

We've got someone to record by shorthand the whole case because we fear the worst. We'll then publish the whole damn thing for you to see and judge for yourselves if this is justice.

Xmas message to UKBA

Follow Santa's advice and stay safe this Christmas

h/t George

Update
Original cartoon here by Dan Donovan

Liberty (Dir Shami Chakrabarti) responds to Cross-Border Shoppers plight!

Liberty who proudly boast that they are Protecting Civil Liberties and Promoting Human have responded to our request to help the 70-80,000 people who have their goods seized by the UKBA. I gave them all the details about how the UKBA interviews are conducted. l showed how suspected drug smugglers have far more rights than Cross-border Shoppers etc etc.

My only request of them was they put up some information to help Cross-Border Shoppers. Namely to inform shoppers to use their right to record the interview and their right to not sign the UKBA officers notebook.

Liberty proudly boast :-

We seek to protect civil liberties and promote human rights for everyone.

"Liberty is also known as the National Council for Civil Liberties. Founded in 1934, we are a cross party, non-party membership organisation at the heart of the movement for fundamental rights and freedoms in the UK.

We promote the values of individual human dignity, equal treatment and fairness as the foundations of a democratic society. 

Liberty campaigns to protect basic rights and freedoms through the courts, in Parliament and in the wider community. We do this through a combination of public campaigning, test case litigation, parliamentary lobbying, policy analysis and the provision of free advice and information."

Ah yes, l forgot .... you want to see their response to our request. Here you are :-

Dear Mr ########,

 

Thank you for your query which we received on the 27/11/2011. I am sorry for the delay in responding to you which is due to the large number of queries we are currently processing and our limited resources.

 

I am sorry to hear of your situation. Unfortunately, Liberty is not currently campaigning on the procedures of the UK Border Agency. Liberty is a small organisation with limited resources and must focus on its campaigning objectives, which include anti-terror legislation, privacy and vulnerable minorities.  

 

I am sorry that we have not been able to assist. I wish you all the best and thank you for contacting Liberty .

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Laura Milne

Advice and Information Officer

LIBERTY

l bet you all feel very sorry for them. Their 'limited resources' can't extend to a few lines of text and perhaps a link to the relevant UKBA procedures. Atleast you can say one thing for Liberty ... they did actually respond and tell us smokers to f##k off!  There were no other responses from the rest of these faux liberty, freedom, civil rights groups.

We're on our own folks. There's no-one who'll fight for our rights except ourselves! 

UKBA Dover targets Xmas Shoppers

l've had a number of requests for help over the weekend and all have involved Dover. Out of 3 of the cases 2 vehicles have been seized along with tobacco amounts that are not in anyway excessive. They all answered the questions correctly, did not contradict each other, had never been stopped before and in effect could not in any way be construed as commercial. The 3rd case involved losing the tobacco but kept the vehicle.

ln one of the cases, the seizure was announced before the A-J's were conducted! l can't say much more about them at the moment other than that they were all in my honest opinion nothing more than the policy of disruption. lntegrity and honesty were not in attendance.

Unfortunately none of the victims recorded the interview and all signed the notebook ... even one who could not read or write! We shall do our best though.

A fourth case happened a month or so go and here we have a Review Officer that is of the same calibre of our very own Ian Sked. ln fact he could well take the crown off our Sked ! We shall bring you the results of all these when we get them.

On a positive note we've had one incident at an airport where the UKBA were told they were being recorded and once again they behaved correctly and no goods were seized. l'm trying to convince the person involved to let us have the video. Fingers crossed. lf we don't get it we still have ours to come very shortly.

So people, let's be careful out there. Record everything and do not sign the notebook ... ever!

Stay Safe now!

Oh l forgot ... our Xmas Baccy Cruise is just a week away! There are still some places left!

How to Record UKBA/HMRC Interviews/Stop and Search

Firstly, when you are stopped by UKBA/HMRC you MUST immediately tell them that you are recording them. They CANNOT stop you as it is in their own procedures that they HAVE to follow. Make sure that you take a copy of SBC's FOI with you in case they try to refuse being recorded by bluffing or lying to you. The relevant paragraph is on page 8 under Excise and Civil Interviews where it categorically states:-

"Note: Officers cannot stop someone if they choose to make a video or audio recording of the interview themselves using their own equipment such as a mobile phone, video camera etc."


The reason we tell you to inform the UKBA/HMRC immediately that you are recording the incident when you are stopped by them is NOT you that are required to do so by law (you can do it covertly too), it is to make them behave!


Once they know they are being recorded, they will not use their usual tactics of bullying, intimidation, lying etc etc etc. The act of recording them has the same result on  them as Kryptonite does to Superman ... they lose their 'powers' and have to do everything by the book!


As for equipment to use, SBC rightly says that we recommend the above Sony Recorder BUT this is not the only device we use at the time. The Sony is for back-up because it can record for hours and hours with no problem. The other devices we use such as spy cameras, i-phone etc all have a major disadvantage ... if the interview goes on for a long time (Zaphod 4+ hours), the spy cameras, i-phones etc will run out of battery ... the Sony will NOT.We did a test and it ran for over 12 hours and it still had battery life left.


lt's no use recording something so important only to find you missed half of the interview interrogation because the battery ran out!


We still use the spy cameras, i-phone etc but the Sony is the 'belt and braces'. Also remember that your mobile phone has recording capabilities too even if it is not an i-phone. Get to know your mobile phone's capabilities, many of them can do more than the i-phone l use.For spy cameras go to ebay and as SBC said just do a search for spy cameras.


SPREAD the word people and let's all MAKE the UKBA/HMRC  BEHAVE!


Us Cross-Border Shoppers are no longer defenceless against the illegal and unjust tactics used by UKBA/HMRC. We can take away these tactics that UKBA/HMRC have used for years to rob people of their goods and vehicles. This recording of them is a game breaker ... USE IT & TELL OTHERS about it. 


Let's show them that they are ACCOUNTABLE to us, the public! Let's FORCE them to abide by the LAW ... as they should have been doing for years!


SPREAD THE WORD!


Stay Safe 

##UPDATED## ln just 1 year ...68,765 people had their tobacco/cigs seized by UKBA/HMRC

On top of the 68,765 people who had their tobacco/cigs seized, 5618 of these poor souls had their vehicles seized,

The figure of the number who had goods seized is even higher in reality as when people who are intimidated into leaving their goods without an interview by UKBA/HMRC there is no documented record of this unless the UKBA/HMRC chooses to do such. UKBA/HMRC are not obligated to record such an incident immediately ... they can do it at their convenience. Heh heh, so these seized goods that there is no record of will ALL be documented at a later date by said UKBA/HMRC officer? Answers on a postcard please.

So, to the facts we've got through an FOI for seizures in the period 2008/9.

Firstly we'lll look at Maritime Seizures. These include all the ports AND get this ... the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in France. Creative accounting? :) This total is 4,712 seizures. Oh l forgot! there's an extra 2836 seizures (the only ONE they put in their annual performance report). These 2836 seizures are cross-channel seizures ... perhaps they don't know cross-channel is Maritime.

Next we have Air seizures which total 41,765 seizures

Then we have Inland seizures which total 1,477 seizures.

Overseas Seizures are 132... yes 132.

All the above are for cigarettes only. The tobacco are as follows.

17,703 seizures. They don't break this down into Maritime, Inland, Air, Cross-Channel or Overseas.

Also they don't say where the 5618 vehicles were seized but they don't know what happened to them anyway!. They seem to think that giving me this information is not in the public interest! :)

How long is this wholesale state robbery going to continue?

Written in a quaint no-smoking restaurant in Bulgaria where they supply ashtrays to smokers. No going out in the cold for a smoke for me :)


UPDATE


l chose 2008/9 stats because l could get some of them from HMRC before part of it got swallowed up in the merger to form UKBA.

Since then stats are very hard to get because UKBA say HMRC have them and vice-versa. Even bloody Damien Green didn't know who kept the stats and he's the Minister in charge of them! 

The 2008/9 stats were difficult enough as they only published Cross-Channel seizures of 2836. This was a blatant attempt to deceive the public and it is still going on.

SMOKING BAN

It's been a while since l've been back in Yambol, Bulgaria, The restaurants, bars etc had a choice of going smoking or non-smoking. The smoking bars, restaurants are doing well, some of the non-smoking establishments have closed down and the other non-smoking places now have smoking even though the signs say 'No Smoking Allowed'.

Lesson to be learned eh? Ah but our esteemed representatives are not listening are they? Fingers in the ears and eyes shut tight.  

Stopped by UKBA, Zaphod arrested AGAIN! 30,000 cigs.

Yep! We got stopped and Zaphod got arrested AGAIN. Had 30,000 cigs between us.

We are both home now .... with the 30,000 cigs!  More later cos l'm knackered and need some zzzzzzzz's.

Flying out again tomorrow morning :)

Busy Busy Busy

Got loads of paperwork to sort out for tomorrow. First on list is a visit to HMRC to find out why l get no answers about removing false data they hold on me. l've e-mailed the Data Protection Unit and Complaints ... then snail-mailed them, phoned them, faxed them and all response l get is ZERO!

So tomorrow l'm invading their offices! Should be interesting! :)

Then it's on to my local MP to get an Ombudsman complaint against UKBA on the way. Entirely different matter to the above. UKBA Complaints Dept are not fit for purpose ... unless you are UKBA of course! They have more whitewash than B&Q!

I know too well their game ... take ages responding, respond with zero content and hope you shut up. Only channel left is requesting UKBA review your complaint which they do and you get the same response as previously. Then they shut up shop entirely and won't respond to anything. They know the only avenue left is the Ombudsman and they also know people can't be bothered and usually give up. Well, not me! Lets see what happens next.

By the way, if you think it's any better trying to get any response out of John Vine ,the Independent (yeah right) Inspector of the UKBA ... think again! To me it's just another place that stocks whitewash!

If You Help Cross-Border Shoppers You WILL Be Harassed

This from the owner of Daytripper who does not smoke and never buys tobacco or cigarettes.


"6th Oct 2011 - UKBA hard at it again monitoring UK citizens (9/14 times now!)


Oh dear, stopped again! As usual, the UKBA Officer looked down at his list and this law abiding UK citizens is stopped again. "Congratulations" I say, "this is 9 out of 14 times I have been stopped, why is my name on a list of people to be monitored?"


The UKBA official responded that it was not a stop, he was just having a chat. Amazing - HE STOOD IN FRONT OF MY CAR WITH HIS HAND UP.


I am asked where I have been, what for and how long. I reply I am a journalist working, but why should I have to do this 2/3's of the time I travel? 


This is in itself worrying as they know exactly when I left and returned. Why then the need to question me?


He then asked me why it was a problem, so I said "I am British not an East German, there is no need to monitor my movements". His response? "I have the power to take you into the sheds". This is the standard intimidation they employ. I would prefer to argue my case, but I'm British and being monitored by the misnamed UKBA ("Energetically using the UKBorder as the point at which UK citizens are controlled) is scary enough.


So, you don't need to be a criminal, engaged in criminal activity or have done anything wrong, these bullies have the power to scare you should you question why you have been stopped.


I replied " I know what that means" and drove off.


It is worth reminding people that had I not stopped, the cats claws (an immobilisng device) woud have come up and I would be prosecuted for ... not stopping.


People should also know that I do not smoke, do not buy and have never bought tobacco of any kind. And so what is it I did that excites the UKBA? How can it be criminal to shop where it is cheapest. My only "crime" is either crossing my own countries borders, or as I increasingly suspect, because they have more in common with Banana Republic officialdom that professional Civil Servants (being civil and serving the taxpayer), and like to use and abuse their powers to intimidate and control perfectly law abiding citizens who question their behaviour


Interestingly, despite a very high volume of lorries this evening, the lorry sheds were empty. Stopping drugs, counterfeit goods and looking for explosives? No, it's shoppers they clearly exist to control."

SCOOP! Recording the UKBA/HMRC audio and video ... LEGAL!

by Herr Von Sked

We've long advocated recording the UKBA/HMRC when they are conducting their interview after you've been stopped by them. This is because that their version of the interview is invariably paraphrased and then used against you. Not forgetting the many cases of intimidation and illegal tactics/lies This is why we also advise you not to sign their notebook as is your right.

The recordings we've done have always been covert as UKBA/HMRC don't want you to record them and tell you that you cannot legally do so. Well, lo and behold this is another UKBA/HMRC LIE! They may refuse to record the interview but YOU can.

You ARE allowed to record them! Who says so? ... the UKBA/HMRC in their own procedures! Yes, you read that right ... the UKBA/HMRC procedures say you CAN record them.

This means they will behave themselves somewhat better than they usually do because they will know they are being recorded. lt also means that you have no reason whatsoever to sign their notebook. Believe me, this is very good news for the cross-border shopper. You still have to prepare yourself before you go cross-border shopping but now you have the means to protect yourself .... UKBA/HMRC say so!

Specifically :-

"Excise and Civil Interviews

Excise Interviews 


Where practical, interviews should be conducted by a minimum of two officers and recorded in writing in an official notebook or on a ENF1227 Record of Interview form, or on tape (Interviews). 


Note: Officers cannot stop someone if they choose to make a video or audio recording of the interview themselves using their own equipment such as a mobile phone, video camera etc."


This can be found on page 8 of this FOI

There is lots more in this FOI but the fact that you can openly record the UKBA/HMRC is a massive step forward that deserves a post of it's own. So if you are ever subjected to one of UKBA/HMRC's interviews ... RECORD it on your phone, video camera or whatever ... you have a RIGHT to do so!

h/t to SBC for this. He deserves all the laurels! Well done SBC.

Sneaky devious UKBA ##UPDATED##

On Sat the new guidelines come in of 800 cigarettes and 1 kg of tobacoo. Since April 2008 the part of HMRC that was controlling Customs at our borders merged with the BIA to form the UKBA.

So where would you expect a press release to be announcing the start of the new guidelines for all people travelling this weekend? UKBA website 'Latest News' ???

WRONG! It's on HMRC's website 'Latest News' (28th Sep) and when you go to it and and look at the leaflet, guess what agency heading it's printed under? .... yep, UKBA!

UKBA's 'Latest News' ???  ... "Disruption of IT points based system" 

The UKBA bandits are going to be busy this weekend preying on unsuspecting shoppers.

UKBA plumb the depths of deceit again!

UPDATE

UKBA have now put the info on their site! (They visit us most days haha)

UKBA Customs Controls in France/Belgium that don't legally exist.

It's surprising how many people think that the UKBA Border Controls in France such as Calais, Dunkirk are Customs Controls, lndeed many a UKBA Ofiicer seemingly does too when they 'innocently' ask questions such as "What have you purchased" blah blah.

The fact of the matter is that UKBA have no authority or jurisdiction to ask such questions. Many a cross-border shopper think they do but it is in reality nothing more than a bluff by UKBA.

The Channel Tunnel (Coquelles) is the ONLY place in France where UKBA can operate Customs Controls. Quote from UKBA :-

" The UK Border Agency controls at Coquelles (Channel Tunnel site) are the
only juxtaposed controls in France that has the jurisdiction and legislation to
operate Customs Controls under CEMA 1979.  This is outlined in the 1993
Channel Tunnel order. These powers are exercised in a defined control zone
and where necessary they have been modified to provide for the particular
circumstances of the tunnel."

UKBA can only look for illegal  immigrants and check passports at all the other border controls in France/Belgium. That means they cannot look in small bags/holdalls etc or anywhere incl your vehicle (if you take one) that is not big enough for a person to fit in and hide. They cannot legally ask any questions or conduct any searches for Excise Goods such as tobacco/cigarettes/alcohol. CEMA 1979 (Customs Controls) cannot be applied at these borders ... period!

As Michael Caine never said " 'not a lot of people know that " So next time any UKBA Officer at one of these border controls starts asking questions about your purchases, feel free to inform them that they have no legal power to do so .... make sure you are not doing this though :-     :)

Stay safe now! :)

## Important Update ## Baccy Mini-Cruise 15th Oct

UKBA Deck 5 Pride of Bruges 1st Oct 2011

One of our friends on Facebook has just returned from Zeebrugge to Hull on P&O Ferries. He has informed us that according to some of the crew on the P&O ferry, the UKBA intend to blitz the route from Oct 1st when the new guidelines of 1kg tobacco and 800 cigarettes come in.This blitz will supposedly continue for the whole month.

This will be bad news for the legitimate cross-border shopper who is unprepared for the tactics they will face if stopped by the UKBA.

The UKBA hype will tell you that they are targeting smugglers but  this is a complete fallacy. Mr Smuggler is already exceeding the guidelines that are in place now of 3kg tobacco and 3200 cigarettes so these new lower guidelines will mean what to him? Errr, he's exceeding the guidelines ... duh!

Mr Smuggler is also prepared to lose shipments, it's part and parcel of his business. Not for him is the interview interrogation. He (or his underlings) will leave the goods  and just walk away when UKBA say "You are not under arrest and can leave at anytime". Mr Smuggler wants as little contact with the UKBA as possible. He'll be back tomorrow or the next day/week ... he remains in profit.

However if an unprepared, trusting legitimate shopper gets stopped by the UKBA, the odds are they will lose their goods because they said the wrong thing in the interrogation ... and be out of pocket ... and be condemned as a smuggler. This suits the UKBA because they can then crow about all the smugglers they've intercepted because they know that virtually none of their victims will appeal against the seizure. Job done!

ln the meantime, Mr Smuggler will have a load more new customers ... all these legitimate cross-border shoppers who are now too frightened to shop abroad for their tobacco/cigarettes.

UKBA kid themselves they've won, Mr Smuggler on the other hand has definitely won.

So, to all those coming on the mini-cruise ... please be prepared, We, ourselves, are very happy that UKBA could be planning to be there in force. lt's exactly what we want and look forward to ... we have some plans of our own. Maybe some of you intend to make a statement yourselves or maybe you are there just for the jolly .... we don't know. All of you have booked independently and have no links to us so you can decide yourself how to proceed. We are not asking you to do what we do ... you can just be sightseers if you wish, it's totally up to you.

Join us onboard where we'll have a drink or two or three whilst we all share our thoughts, experiences and knowledge. Looking forward to it immensely.

Anyone else wishing to join us can still book as tickets are still available.

See you onboard!      

What HMRC/UKBA DON'T Want You to Know

ln the previous article the comments touched on this issue. l think it deserves a place of it's own.

Our friend Justine put in an FOI to HMRC/UKBA and asked for the TOTAL number of seizures for Overseas Seizures and Air Seizures. She also asked for the location of Overseas Seizures and what Overseas Seizures referred to.

She was told by HMRC/UKBA that Overseas Seizures refers to seizures outside the national territory of the United Kingdom ! (my edit ... no shit Sherlock)

She was refused the rest of the information under Section 31 (1) (a)(b)(d)  of the FOIA which states :-

Law Enforcement


lnformation which is not exempt by virtue of Section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or be likely to, prejudice -


(a)    the prevention or detection of crime,
(b)   the apprehension or prosecution of offenders
(c)   the administration of justice
(d)   the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature
(e)   the operation of immigration controls


(HMRC/UKBA then went on to explain their decision)

"The information you have requested identifies data specific to particular geographical areas 
and modes of interception which if released would provide a picture or partial picture of 
operational activity useful to those minded to circumvent law enforcement controls. This 
would, as a consequence, adversely affect our ability to prevent or detect crime, the ability to 
apprehend or prosecute offenders, and as a direct consequence, prejudice the ability to 
assess or collect tax, duty or similar.  
It is publicly acknowledged that our activities have forced smugglers to adapt the methods 
they employ. For example, in their 2000-01 Standard Report the National Audit Office noted 
that the introduction of x-ray scanners was ‘forcing more intelligent methods of smuggling’.  
Releasing data specific to geographical regions would provide a useful indicator as to where 
we concentrate our overseas activities which would not serve the public interest in 
understanding the effectiveness of our anti fraud strategies, but, as outlined previously,  
would provide a picture of operational activity useful to those minded to circumvent our 
controls





Having weighed up the factors for and against disclosure, we have concluded that the public 
interest clearly favours withholding the information. "


WTF?  it's in our (the public) interest NOT to know the total seizures they made Overseas and at Airports??!!!!
How's that for arrogance? Get the feeling they are trying to hide something?

Justine was not impressed so she asked for a review. She will take it to the Information Commissioner if her review still refuses to give the info. Here is Justine's reply to them.:-


"I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and
Customs's handling of my FOI request 'Number of cigarette/tobacco
seizures 2008/9'. Your Ref FoI 2119-11 14th Sept 2011.

ln the above FOI l requested the following :-

"l note in your Autumn Report 2009 that in Table 5. Excise Fraud it
states the following in the column for 2008/9 re the total number
of cigarettes seized:-

Overseas seizures 855m
Air seizures 244m
Inland seizures 180m
Maritime seizures 557m
Cross channel
passenger seizures 11m
Number of cross
channel seizures 2,836

1. l hereby make an FOI request as to what exactly is meant by
Overseas Seizures and specifically where geographically?

2. Also,what is the number of seizures for this Overseas Seizure
figure of 855m re 2008/9?

3. Also, what is the number of seizures for this Air Seizures
figure
of 244m re 2008/9?"

ln your response of 14th Sept 2011 you partly answered 1. but
refused data on locations under Section 31(1)(a)(b)(d). l fail to see how
giving the locations of 'overseas seizures' can prejudice
prevention or detection of crime etc. HMRC/UKBA have no
jurisdiction in EU other than at juxtaposed controls ... these
being Coquelles, Dunkirk, Bordeaux and Calais in France (plus 3
train stations for Eurostar re Paris. Also Gare du Midi, Brussels.
As UKBA/HMRC have no jurisdiction anywhere else in the EU l fail to
see how giving the overseas locations for overseas seizures can
compromise anything at all. l was not requesting a breakdown of
amounts seized per location.

You also refused under Section31(1)(a)(b)(d) to answer my FOI request for
2. and 3. Again this data on number of seizures that l requested
cannot in anyway compromise your detection, intelligence or
operations etc. l was not requesting a breakdown of seizures per
location (i.e specific airports, ports). All l requested was the
TOTAL number of seizures re Overseas Seizures and Air Seizures.

This is EXACTLY the same as the data you yourselves have produced
for Cross Channel Passenger Seizures (2008/9). You state you seized
11m cigarettes re Cross Channel Passenger Seizures and then gave
the TOTAL number of Cross Channel Seizures as 2836. These figures
are not port location specific.

l therefore request this same data as you yourselves produced for
Cross Channel Passenger Seizures (2008/9) but for Overseas Seizures
and Air Seizures (2008/9). l request the TOTAL number of seizures
for Overseas Seizures (2008/9) and the TOTAL number of seizures for
Air Seizures (2008/9)


Yours faithfully,

Justine Hawkins"




According to the House of Commons General Commitee and Damian Green (Minister for lmmigration)  that although the UKBA have juxtaposed borders in France and Belgium they only have legislation for Customs Controls at Coquelles. Seeing as seizures need CEMA the only place that Overseas Seizures can legally refer has to be Coquelles, is it not?


Don't really think HMRC/UKBA are worried about that, what concerns them is the figures for the total NUMBER of seizures. They are obviously very worried about those figures coming out! 

Why Are We So Unique?

lf YOU are a Cross-Border Shopper, we want you to read this and read all of it! Then we want YOU to make a comment. We get between 3500-4000 visitors per week (not bad for a single-issue site aiming at just 25% of the population ... that is to say, smokers!) and the majority of you are Cross-Border Shoppers. We too are Cross-Border Shoppers but that is where the similarity ends ... we, along with a few others, seem to be unique and we want to know something ... WHY?. Only YOU can tell us ... read on.

Recent investigation results re Freedom of Information requests have shocked us to the core. Through our own requests and those of our good friend Justine we have been trying to extract the true picture as to what is happening with UKBA seizures and subsequent Appeals against Seizures. Getting this information is like extracting teeth. The UKBA/HMRC are extremely reluctant to give us this information and try everything they can to keep this information from reaching the public. However, we are nothing but persistent and do eventually get results.

One of our main objectives has been to try and get the actual number of seizures per year. UKBA/HMRC have no problem whatsoever in giving the amount of tobacco/cigarettes seized but definitely don't want to show how many people have had their goods seized.

Prior to part of HMRC merging with the Border and Immigration Agency ?(BIA) to form the UKBA in April 2008 there was a fair of amount of data released. Although this data didn't give the whole picture atleast it was something. Since the UKBA have been in existance, even this data has been witheld!

So, we started with the last time HMRC released the data and it showed the following for the period 2008/9. For the purpose of this post we are concentrating on only part of this data and highlighted it  :-

Overseas seizures 855 million cigarettes
Air seizures 244 million cigarettes
Inland seizures 180 million cigarettes
Maritime seizures 557 million cigarettes
Cross channel passenger seizures 11 million cigarettes
Number of cross channel seizures 2,836

You'll note that HMRC only show the NUMBER of  seizures for Cross Channel and NOT any of the others. You'll also note that the data is for cigarette seizures only and NOT tobacco (HRT)

So, what's the NUMBER of seizures for the Air Seizures figure? By taking the Cross Channel data and applying it by simple maths to the Air Seizures we get the NUMBER of seizures at UK Airports for 2008/9 to be approx 63,000. That's 63,000 people! ... and that's without the number of seizures for Overseas, Maritime and lnland! 63,000 ... got that?

How many of these 63,000 appealed against the seizures?   673! .... just 673 ,,, yep, that's right .... a measly 673 ... approx 1%. ln reality even this 1% is far too big when you consider the NUMBER of seizures to be added from all the Overseas (Coquelles), Maritime, lnland and not forgetting the 2836 that HMRC showed. A final realistic figure will be FAR LESS THAN 1%!

How many people won their initial Appeal Against Seizure? .... 15! ... yep 15! Add to that a further 52 as UKBA say approx 8% win their case at Magistrates court.

Now take our own personal Appeals Against Seizure. What's our success rate? ... 100%! ... and that's with amounts way over the guidelines. We are just ordinary people who refuse to be intimidated or bullied and that's all really it takes. Once you stand up to them you'll see UKBA are NOT remotely as powerful and clever as you think they are.

So, wtf can we conclude from this? Yes there will be a percentage of smugglers amongst these seizure figures but that isn't the answer because UKBA would happily release these figures if they were all smugglers ... and prosecute them. You have to conclude that UKBA would be embarrassed by releasing the actual NUMBER of seizures because they know, as we do, most are just ordinary Cross-Border Shoppers and questions would be asked. Parliament, MSM, so called Liberty groups/blogs etc would have to then take note. As it is, they are happy to keep it swept under the carpet.

How do UKBA get away with it? .... because of YOU! For various reasons YOU allow UKBA to rob you. Either you screw up on the interview, don't go prepared, trust the UKBA, intimidated by them, to scared to fight back and so on. No wonder the UKBA are so arrogant and do what they want, they know that virtually no-one fights back!

l'm not being nasty to you or disrespectful ... l'm just telling you the facts as they are.

Why are we, and a few others, so unique when it comes to taking on the UKBA?

More to the point ... tell us WHY YOU won't fight back?

HMRC/UKBA to use Covert Lie Detectors

Our wonderfully honest and truthful agencies of HMRC/UKBA are according to Dr Hussan Agail of Bradford University going to trial the good professors lie detector equipment at a UK airport. lt is going to be covertly done in order to fight terrorism.

Well that's what the doctor says now but in 2008 he said it was to detect smugglers and drug dealers. l shall write to Dr Agail and suggest he try it out on the HMRC/UKBA officers first and then publish the results. Then maybe he could try it out at the House of Commons? .... loads of subjects there for him!

How does it work? ‘When a person is being deceitful, when a person lies, there is increased brain activity and this is reflected in the face through involuntary facial expressions and blood flow,’ said Prof Ugail.

Humans were known to have a limited repertoire of around 46 facial expressions, known as Facial Action Units, he said.

These were used when programming the software for the facial lie detector.

The thermal camera focused on the region around the eye because the skin is thinner there, making its temperature changes easier to spot. The camera was capable of detecting a warming in the face of 0.1C.

"Sounds good eh? He's tested it out on 40 (yes, 40) volunteers who he asked to answer a series of questions truthfully and then lie ... he got an amazing 70% success! Yep, 70% compared with the traditional lie detector that has a 90% success rate. He thinks he can achieve 90%! Wow, well done Prof! ... and you want to trial this 70% efficient equipment (according to the Prof) at an airport? Err, no 100% then Prof?

The Prof also things that our wonderfully truthful and honest HMRC/UKBA Officers are "very good at spotting people carrying contraband and analysing facial expressions" (2008) but by 2011 he thinks "Border Control Officers are very good at spotting liars!"  Prof you should be a comedian. No, l retract that ... you are one! 

Our good Prof then goes on to say that he hopes to develop his equipment to detect Alzeimers and dementia. Back to testing it out on HMRC/UKBA Officers and the House of Commons then Prof? :)

2008 article  2011 article

Shelf Life of Tobacco .... From the Horses Mouth ... the UKBA

Customer Service Improvement 
Directorate 
Freedom of Information Team
Lunar House 40 Wellesley Road
CR9 2BY

##### ###########
Web:www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
[FOI #82453 email] 


01 September 2011
Dear ## ########

Thank you for your e-mail of 10 August 2011, in which you ask: the specific time
period for UKBA destroying tobacco goods? What specific shelf life do the UKBA
state tobacco products have?; and what factual documented evidence do the UKBA
base their specific shelf life period of tobacco products on.  Your request has been
handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We are now in a position to provide a full reply to your request.

Question 1: What is specific time period for UKBA destroying tobacco goods? 
Paragraph 2.15 of Notice 12A “What you can do if things are seized by HM Revenue
& Customs” explains when seized perishable goods will be destroyed:

How likely is it that HMRC will have disposed of the seized thing?

We will dispose of perishable goods (including tobacco and beer and all food
products) as quickly as possible.

The legislation allowing the destruction of goods is contained in Schedule 3,
paragraph 16(b) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, which provides:

Where any thing has been seized as liable to forfeiture the Commissioners
may at any time if they see fit and not withstanding that the thing has not yet
been condemned, or is not yet deemed to have been condemned, as forfeited
- ... if the thing seized …is in the opinion of the Commissioners of a perishable
nature, sell or destroy it.

Questions 2 & 3: What specific shelf-life do the UKBA state tobacco products
have?  What factual documented evidence do UKBA base their specific shelf-
life period of tobacco products on? 
In 2003 HM Revenue & Customs were provided with a copy of a letter from Imperial
Tobacco Limited in which they advise:
 

---

The time that tobacco goods will remain in good condition varies according to
storage facilities, climatic conditions, difference in wrapping material used etc.

Tobacco goods should be kept at a cool, even temperature between 10C
(50F) and 13C (55F). they should be kept away from other goods which can
transmit taste and flavour, e.g. soap, firelighters.

The shelf life of the different packings of tobaccos from the date of
manufacture are as follows:-

Pouch and printed foil packings – up to twelve months
Tin packings – up to two years
Thermoform packings – up to two years.

The UKBA therefore consider that when remaining sealed in its original packaging
and stored under ideal conditions, pouches of tobacco remains fresh for up to twelve
months, and would expect tobacco to become dry / stale when kept for longer than
this when held in ordinary domestic conditions. 

I hope that this information meets your requirements. I would like to assure you that
we have provided you with all relevant information that the Home Office holds. 

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal
review of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to
the address below, quoting reference 19630. If you ask for an internal review, it
would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the response.

Information Access Team
Home Office
Ground Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
e-mail: [email address]  

As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request
will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response.
If you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you would have a right of
complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the
Freedom of Information Act.


Yours sincerely


Freedom of Information Team
UK Border Agency

63,016 individual seizures at UK Airports re cigarettes per year ... the hidden figures by HMRC/UKBA

HMRC/UKBA have never released the full extent of their endless onslaught on legitimate Cross-Border Shoppers. ln their official yearly progress reports they try to cover it up by supposedly giving these figures but actually they don't.

Take the figures from the 2009 report (P.41 Table 5. Excise Fraud)  for the number of cigarettes seized in 2008/9 :-


Overseas seizures                            855m
Air seizures                                     244m
Inland seizures                                180m
Maritime seizures                            557m

Cross channel passenger seizures      11m
Number (how many people) of cross channel seizures    2,836 (average 3878 cigarettes per seizure) Remember what UKBA guidelines say for Croos Border Shopping? ... 3200!

So you are lead to believe that only 2836 cross-channel seizures happened in 2008/9 ... but in the same report they say 5618 vehicles were seized!!!   Mmmm ... so every seizure they seized 2 vehicles???? No foot passengers? Can't be right can it?

lt says Cross-Channel Seizures .... NOT CROSS-BORDER SEIZURES...  so does that actually mean those that actually crossed the Channel and arrived in Dover and other UK ports? Those that didn't are NOT shown then .... so where are they? Ahhh they have a figure for cigarettes seized re Overseas Seizures and it shows they seized 855m cigarettes whereas Cross-Channel Seizures only amount to 11m. cigarettes. We only have border control juxtaposed in Calais, Dunkirk, Coquelles and Boulogne and in Belgium Zeebrugge (here checking lorries and freight). This is what is classed as Overseas Seizures and accounted for 855m in seizures but no actual seizure numbers (people)??? They are obviously frightened to death of releasing the actual numbers. No wonder when they attribute 2836 Cross-Channel Seizures to only 11m cigarettes <<< so they are getting only 1.3% in Cross-Channel Seizures compared with Overseas Seizures. So the number of Cross Channel Seizures of  2836 is also only 1.3 % compared against the number of seizures Overseas ie Calais? 

That's a bloody lot isn't it? There may ofcourse be lorries with a million cigarettes or so seized Overseas but lorries get seized in Dover too. Can't handle them figures ....

Let's look at Air Seizures then and compare it to the Cross-Channel Seizures. Theres no lorries or cars involved here, luggage is restricted to 20-25kg. They state that 244m cigarettes were seized re Air Seizures. The figure of 11m cigarettes is only 4.5% of 244m cigarettes. 

The number (people) of Cross-Channel Seizures is also 4.5% compared to Air Seizures then ... it has to be. Therefore the number of Air Seizures is 63,016!

Divide that number of 63.016 by the number of main UK airports (31) and you get an average of 2032 seizures per airport per year. Now divide that number of 2032 by the number of days in the year (365) and you get just over 5 seizures per day per airport. Not so unbelievable now is it!

This figure does NOT include HRT (tobacco) or Maritime Seizures or lnland Seizures or Overseas Seizures. 

FOI's have gone into UKBA for their total number of seizures per year .... do you think they'll give them?  :)

Average of 5,500 Vehicles seized by HMRC/UKBA per year ... sold £36.80 each?

The official statistics from HMRC state vehicles seized per year as follows :-

2003/4    6,848
2004/5    6,093
2005/6    6,256
2006/7    6,293
2007/8    5,697
2008/9    5,618

ln their annual accounts HMRC state that it is not practicable to show monies received from sale of these vehicles ... however ... UKBA state that it is not practicable to show the number of vehicles seized since Customs were amalgamated into the UKBA on 1st April 2008. They do however estimate it to be over 5000 per year (from Feb 2010 UKBA)

UKBA  do have statistics on something else though. ln their annual accounts they DO show the monies received from sale of seized vehicles and here is where it gets interesting.

They state in their 2009/10(Section 24) report :-

The agency also seized assets at the border. Tobacco and illegal substances are
destroyed but the agency did raise £432k (2008/09: £877k) from the sale of seized
vehicles with all proceeds going to HM Treasury.

And in their 2009/10 (Section 24) report they state :-

The agency also seized assets at the border. Tobacco and illegal substances are destroyed but the agency did raise £184k (2009-10: £432k) from the sale of seized vehicles with all proceeds going to HM Treasury.

WTF? .... they seize over 5000 vehicles per year, so lets be kind and use that figure of 5000 (the extra 500 or so we'll put down to people getting their vehicles back ... yeah right.)

ln 2008/9 ..........     that equates to £175   per vehicle  (£877k for 5000 vehicles)
ln 2009/10............. that equates to £86.40 per vehicle (£432k for 5000 vehicles)
and their latest figures equate to .. £36.80 per vehicle (£184k for 5000 vehicles)

These figures are insane but they come from their own accounts so wtf is going on? There's got to be something else surely? .... anyone???




KARMA! >>> here!She gets no sympathy from me

Cambodian Border Guards v UKBA Border Guards

Clean and oiled weapons SBC :)

lt was gone midnight when the Thai taxi finally stopped at the Cambodian Border Post after travelling miles on little more than a dust track. Not that you could tell it was a border control as it was pitch black so you could see nothing and was in the middle of nowhere..The passenger door suddenly opened and a bright light shone in my face from the border guards torch.He took the passport out of my hand, shone the torch on the passport and then back to my face. 'Ah' he said and then spoke my name, surname first and christian name last. l replied 'Yes' and a hand then beckoned me out.

I paid the taxi driver $100 even though he said the cost was $40. This was because he had taken me on a 6hr trip to Bangkok, slept in his taxi overnight and then picked me up in the afternoon to bring me to Cambodia ... another 6hr road trip. l thought he deserved it.

As the taxi sped off l followed the border guard to the border post. This wooden thatched 'building' could've come straight out of a Rambo movie. The inside was dimly lit but l could see 3 or 4 other guards in there. l could also see quite a number of AK-47's propped against the wall. l was asked to sit down at a table and then was offered a coffee and something to snack on whilst he took my passport to his desk and made a phonecall. The other guards came over to me and in broken English tried to strike up a conversation. l offered them a cigarette which they gratefully accepted.

As we 'chatted' l realised the situation l was in. Here l was at a border post that doesn't exist on google maps because it's actually in the jungle so you can't see it, no-one knew l was here, l had no visa for entry to Cambodia and l was carrying approx $1400 in cash (average wage at that time in Cambodia was $14 a month). This actual border post was only used by locals as only they knew where it was, foreigners certainly did not use it or even knew of its existence.

So l stayed there for about half an hour as they enquired about my life in England, what l was doing in the casino at Koh Kong, my family etc whilst telling me about their lives.By this time we were on first name terms as all had introduced themselves to me. This friendly conversation came to an end as their attention turned to the sound of an approaching vehicle. lt was the taxi that the senior border guard had requested from the casino l was going to when he had phoned them. l said my goodbyes, left them 2 sleeves of cigarettes and was on my way along another dusty road that did not 'exist' ... the locals called it the Campaign Trail. l had not been searched or interrogated and had been treat with courtesy and offered refreshments.

Fast forward to my return to Doncaster UK from the EU. The UKBA 'border guards' held me against my will for over an hour, refused me entry to UK despite having a British passport, would not give me their names or ID numbers, were arrogant, rude and dismissive, would not tell me why l was being held, tried to steal my cigarettes and refused me a glass of water.

Makes you proud to be British, doesn't it?