Customs officers have cracked the biggest-ever tobacco smuggling operation through Harwich Port after seizing 16 million bootleg cigarettes.
The £1.5 million haul of cigarettes filled two lorry containers and were labelled as women's clothing. They were stopped when they arrived in Harwich on a cargo vessel from Esbjerg in Denmark.
One arrived on Saturday and the other on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Customs and Excise said: "Sixteen million cigarettes is basically two lorry containers jam packed. We have had bigger hauls of three or four containers at Felixstowe but I think this is the biggest haul we have had from Harwich.
"Obviously we are delighted to have stopped this massive tax dodge from coming into the country."
He added: "We have a number of tests and procedures and this must have shown up on at least one of these."
Five men have been arrested in Stratford-Upon-Avon in connection with the investigation.
They were taken to police stations in Oxford and were today (Friday) still being questioned by officers.
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article