Overview
- Staffordshire Police’s Road Crime Team stopped a car on the M6 southbound at Junction 13 after spotting the driver using a mobile phone.
- The motorist claimed his wife was in labour and provided false details, but officers established he was disqualified from driving.
- Officers found 50,000 suspected counterfeit cigarettes in the boot, and images released by the force showed the man handcuffed and the boxes on the hard shoulder.
- The cigarettes were seized on behalf of HMRC, and local reporting stated the driver was also without insurance.
- The driver has been reported to court for motoring offences, with the incident shared by the unit as part of its ongoing enforcement activity around its 12-month milestone.