Eight ingot to be auctioned by HMRC

 

Eight gold bars seized from a passenger attempting to smuggle the treasures onto a flight by hiding them in a lunchbox are set to be auctioned on Thursday. The ingots weighed 35lbs (16kg) worth £75t0, 000- was seized in November 2018 at Manchester Airport by HMTRC officers.

The airline passenger did not face prosecution

An HMRC spokesperson said its investigators had used the 2017 Criminal Finance Act that allows certain assets seized under  the proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to be subjected to forfeiture  “new civil proceeds of crime powers for the first time to apply for forfeiture of the bars”.

HMRC Fraud Investigation Service Assistant director Gill Hilton said the case “should act as a deterrent to criminals looking to trade assets such as precious metals.”