The dark truth behind your cheap cigarettes - Behind The Investigation | BBC News

One in every six cigarettes smoked in the UK is counterfeit.
In this episode of BBC News Behind the Investigation, Melanie Stewart-Smith talks to File on 4 Investigates reporter Jane Deith about how the team uncovered the global criminal networks flooding Britain with fake cigarettes, and the human cost behind every cheap pack.

Jane explains how the team traced the supply chain from secret factories in Belgium to corner shops, minimarts and cash and carries across the UK.

We also look at why gangs are moving from drugs to fake cigarettes. A former senior Europol official says they now make as much money as they do from drugs, with far lower prison sentences if they're caught. The profits are being used to fund weapons, people smuggling and even terrorism.

Do people really know what they're funding when they buy cheap cigarettes?

Hear the full investigation: search for File on 4 Investigates on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0032sbc

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0:00 Intro
0:54 Why investigate counterfeit cigarettes?
2:00 How big is the UK fake cigarette market?
3:31 Undercover in Liverpool
5:30 Tip-off from Belgian customs
6:20 How Polish gangs run the trade
7:18 The dawn raid near Brussels
8:02 Inside the raided factory
11:15 The hidden factory in South Yorkshire
12:15 The trapped workers' story
14:09 Emerson's story
15:09 How big and organised are these operations?
16:21 Why gangs target the UK
17:30 More money than drugs, less risk
18:21 What the UK government says
19:15 The violence behind the trade
20:54 What buyers are really paying for