Border Force officers seized 4,884,001 illegal cigarettes and 405kg of rolling tobacco, worth an estimated £2.59 million, during a four-day operation at Manchester Airport, the Home Office said on 26 October 2026. Targeting high-risk flights, baggage and passengers, officers made 4 arrests, denied entry to 23 people and seized 35kg of cannabis. In one case, a smuggler was caught bringing in 100,000 cigarettes carried in 6 suitcases on a flight from Dubai. Officers found concealments including modified pillows and false-bottomed suitcases, with specialist detector dogs deployed during the operation.

Following the operation, 26 people have been referred for further investigation. Smugglers face up to 7 years behind bars and airline bans, and the Department for Work and Pensions will investigate benefit claimants, who could lose benefits where fraud is found. Foreign nationals will be denied entry and have their ETAs cancelled. The seized goods will be destroyed.

The Home Office said the operation builds on year-round work against cigarette smuggling. Last year, Border Force and HMRC seized 1.9 billion illicit cigarettes, resulting in 201 arrests, 134 charges and 83 convictions. Minister for Migration and Citizenship Jo White said tobacco smuggling undercuts honest businesses and funds organised crime, while Adam Knight, head of Border Force's National Threat Response Team, said such operations give officers intelligence to pursue the networks behind the trade.