Customs officers have seized a substantial haul of cigarettes and bootleg booze following a raid on a Silsden pub.

A vehicle was impounded in the raid which netted goods with a tax value of £10,000 including:

39,520 cigarettes

43.9 kilos of hand rolling tobacco

148 litres of spirits

63 litres of wine

96 litres of beer.

Customs spokesman Rob Hastings-Trew said: "It is quite a lot. In West Yorkshire we have seized over 11 million cigarettes from April 1999 to the end of January. Goods worth £1.25m were seized at Leeds-Bradford Airport alone.

"However, in terms of an individual, this is substantial because what we have is a strategy that involves operating at street level."

He added: "Tackling smuggling is one of Customs' priorities and we have taken measures to address the problem. The confidential hotline launched in July last year has had a terrific response and we are pleased with the amount of information we are receiving.

"We are pleased that a reasonable amount has been seized and also want to demonstrate that if people provide us with information we will act on it.

"The public has actually realised it is costing the country a lot of money because it impacts on services they get from local schools and hospitals. We are losing £2.5 billion nationally each year.

"The message we are trying to get across is that these people don't care who they sell to. They are prepared to sell to under age smokers and drinkers."

l A man has been arrested in connection with the Silsden raid and released on police bail pending further inquiries.

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