THOUSANDS upon thousands of litres of smuggled beer, wine and spirits have been seized in a raid on a smugglers’ den.

Customs officers and police mounted the early morning raid at a storage unit in Tannery Close, Beckenham, and found 30 articulated lorries full of alcohol.

They also seized two articulated lorries which were trying to deliver booze to the premises when the raid was taking place.

Two transit vans which Customs suspect are used to distribute the smuggled goods were also seized.

It took customs officers around a week to catalogue the amount of alcohol which was found in the unit.

HM Revenue & Customs spokesman Bob Gaiger said: “This haul was found during an operation to crack down on alcohol smuggling in the South East of England.

“Officers spent several days working round the clock at the site to remove the illicit goods which will now be destroyed or used to make animal feed.

“This illegal trade has a devastating effect on legitimate retailers having to compete with black market traders.”

Anyone with any information about illegally imported goods or tax evasion and fraud should call the Customs Hotline on 0800 595000 or email customs.hotline@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk Customs officers have not yet made any arrests and their investigations are continuing pending potential criminal proceedings.

Bromley police arrested three people on suspicion of immigration offences and handed them over to the UK Border Agency.

They have been bailed pending further inquiries.