Purfleet customs officers foiled one of the largest smuggling attempts in the history of the port last week when they seized almost seven tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco.

The 6.93 tonne stash was said to be worth around £1.77m in unpaid duty to the Treasury.

The trailer was full of shrink-wrapped pallets containing plain cartons marked ‘Hygienic Articles’.

It had been shipped to the UK from Belgium with the contents listed as “pallets”.

The seizure was made on 5 December.

Mark Kennedy, Border Force Assistant Director at Purfleet, said: “This was an excellent piece of detection work. By stopping this shipment we have starved those responsible of the proceeds of their criminality.”

Border Force officers used sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors and scanners to find the stash.

Mr Kennedy added: “I would urge anyone tempted by cheap cigarettes and tobacco to think again. The black market cheats honest traders and it is effectively stealing from the public purse.”