Bootleg booze worth £2.5million was seized in Bradford last night.

A squad of Customs & Excise officials raided a warehouse after a tip off.

The consignment of smuggled spirits was discovered in two wagons at the premises of Just In Time (Bradford) Ltd haulage and transport services, Eastwood Street, Bowling.

It is believed the load - which included thousands of bottles of whisky, gin and branded contained in 2,700 cases - was destined for sale in the Bradford area.

Police and officials from Customs & Excise were called to the firm's premises, off Mill Lane, shortly after 8pm last night.

A member of the public raised the alarm after spotting the spirits being unloaded.

Inspector Harcharan Singh, of Bradford Central Police, said: "We received a report that two men were unloading wagons containing a large amount of whisky and other spirits.

"We discovered two wagons in the warehouse, containing £2.5million worth of alcohol. It appears as if this consignment has been brought in from abroad without any duty being paid.

"It's likely that the spirits were destined for sale in the Bradford area. It looks like the usual scam whereby alcohol is imported into Britain and not declared to the authorities."

Customs & Excise's head of intelligence for north England Frank Ferguson, said the alcohol was now being stored in a secure warehouse in the region.

He said further enquiries were being made today to determine the exact value of the goods seized, and where they had been imported from.

"As far as we can determine, there are around 2,700 cases of spirits. That adds up to £125,000 lost from the public purse in terms of the amount of excise duty evaded," he said.

"This is a significant seizure. Bootlegging is a big problem especially in this area but things like this show that agencies such as Customs & Excise and the police can win the battle by working together. This should act as a warning to others who may be tempted to become involved in anything similar."

Today there were two people at the premises of Just In Time (Bradford) Ltd which shares its premises with a packaging company in an industrial unit.

One of them said: "We are not talking to anyone today. We don't want to make any comment."

A 27-year-old Bradford man has been arrested in connection with the investigation and is being held at Bradford Central police station.

He will be questioned by Customs & Excise officers later today.

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