Dover News - October 2009

A 42 year old lorry driver from Northwood, Middlesex, has been charged with attempting to smuggle 1.2 million cigarettes into the UK through Dover and evade excise duty of over £20,000.

Officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are investigating a smuggling bid after approximately £300,000 worth of Euro notes were seized at Dover Ferry Port.

Inspectors from Dover District Council, the Health and Safety Executive, and Canterbury, Thanet and Shepway Councils will be making a series of health and safety inspections of premises involved in motor vehicle repairs later this month.

A man from Northern Ireland was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment on Friday (9 October 2009) following a HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) criminal investigation into the seizure of nearly six million cigarettes at Dover Eastern Docks.

A central part of the Local Development Framework (LDF), which maps out the district's future over the next 20 years, is being examined by an independent Planning Inspector at the Dover District Council offices in Whitfield from this week.

Dover District Council is reminding residents that the annual canvass for the Register of Electors is currently taking place. Every property in the district has received a form for the Register of Electors that should be checked.

Officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are investigating a smuggling bid after 60 kilos of amphetamine was seized at Dover Ferryport. The drugs had an estimated street value of £540,000.

As part of an ongoing commitment to work together to make sure arrangements are in place to respond most effectively to major emergencies, representatives from a range of agencies gathered for an emergency planning exercise on Wednesday (14 October).

Two men have been jailed for a total of 31 years after importing a consignment of bacon as a cover for 63 kilos of heroin with a street value of £3 million.

As part of their commitment to address the number of empty properties in the area, Dover District Council has drafted a new Empty Homes Strategy and your views are sought.