Revealed: The true cost of the illegal cigarette trade

A SOUTHSIDE
retailer has revealed how the scourge of illegal cigarettes is impacting on his
business.

William Hanley,
who runs his SuperValu store in Rowlagh, Clondalkin, maintains that existing
criminal sanctions for the illegal sale of cigarettes in Ireland are so lenient
and so seldom imposed that it encourages criminals to become involved in the
illicit trade.

In December of
last year Mr Hanley, who is a member of Retailers Against Smuggling, claimed
that criminals in the area were using children to distribute leaflets
advertising the sale of counterfeit cigarettes.

He said
criminals were selling 20 packs of popular brands of cigarettes for between

?¬4
and

?¬5.

He told how they
had been illegally smuggled into the country and warned that the contents of
the counterfeit smokes was far more harmful than the tobacco in legally sold
cigarettes.

He claimed out
that they often contained potentially lethal poisons such as arsenic and
dangerous heavy metals like lead.

Now, in a formal
submission to the Department of Justice on its White Paper on Crime Discussion
– ‘The Community and the Criminal Justice System’ – the retailer has called on
the Government to crack down on the illegal tobacco trade in Ireland.

He noted that
the exchequer and retailers are losing millions of euros every year in revenue
as a result of the illicit trade.

It was reported
recently that a document, due to be published shortly by the Irish Tobacco
Manufacturers’ Advisory Committee, estimates revenue losses due to cigarette
smuggling are now costing the State

?¬500 million a year.

In early August
customs officials at Dublin Port seized one of the largest consignments of
contraband tobacco ever found in Ireland.

The haul weighed
over 3.5 tonnes and it is estimated that the cigarettes would fetch

?¬2.5
million if sold over the counter.

Southside People
has obtained figures from the Department of Finance, which show that since the
beginning of 2009 to date, some 79 custodial sentences were initially imposed
on individuals convicted of the illegal sale or importation of cigarettes.

However, the
figures also show that two thirds or 56 of the 79 individuals who initially
received custodial sentences were subsequently given suspended sentences for
the crimes.

A spokesperson
for the department said the maximum fine imposed on those convicted of the sale
or importation of cigaretts was

?¬5,000. The maximum length of any jail sentence
imposed since the beginning of 2009 was 18 months.

In his
submission, Mr Hanley said he believed that the widespread illegal sale of
cigarettes was not being taken seriously by the authorities.

“As it stands, I
have limited confidence in the criminal justice system to deal with the problem
of cigarette smuggling and the illegal cigarette trade,

? he stated.

“While the
penalties have increased, the actual fines are very small and I get the feeling
that it is not being treated as a serious issue.

“The gardai feel
that their hands are tied – why would they prosecute someone when the deterrent
is so low? It’s just not worth their time to bring someone to court who has
been caught selling cigarettes on the street.

“Everyone knows
that it’s a criminal offence, but the consequences are so minimal that the
gardai seem to struggle to see the point of prosecuting people.

“Selling illegal
cigarettes is a very lucrative activity and because the penalties are so small,
a lot of people in Clondalkin who had been involved in other criminal
activities are now involved,

? he claimed.

“They know full
well that they will not get jail, so it’s a risk worth taking – the incentive
is there for them to get involved.

?

In addition, Mr
Hanley said the widespread sale of counterfeit cigarettes in the area was
having a seriously detrimental impact on his business.

“Like any store
in Ireland, I have to deal with petty crime such as shoplifting but the
difference with the illegal cigarette trade is that it has a silent, indirect
impact on my business,

? he revealed.

“It has a huge effect on cigarette sales
in my store, which are down by about 30 per cent.

?

Mr Hanley
believes that the gardai had been highly effective in successfully tackling
criminal drugs gangs and he urged the authorities to take a similar approach
with those involved in the counterfeit cigarette trade.

“The gardai were
very effective in dealing with some of the drug gangs here,

? he said.

“They
took their possessions and made sure that the dealers got lengthy sentences of
anything between six and nine years.

“If there was a
similar approach applied to cigarette smugglers and sellers, things might
change, but the fact is that the black market hasn’t been targeted at all, even
though the same criminals are involved.

?

Southside People
asked both the Departments of Justice and Finance and the Garda press office to
respond to the submission made by Mr Hanley but they declined to comment.