Blow the whistle… confidentially

THE Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has announced plans to team up with HMRC to create an intelligence sharing system to tackle illicit trade.

John Lee, SGF public affairs manager
John Lee, SGF public affairs manager
The move was announced at the SGF’s first trade seminar of 2014, held in Glasgow last month.
At the event, the organisation said it would work in partnership with agencies such as the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group and HMRC’s Illicit Alcohol Task Force in a bid to provide detailed information on illicit goods and instances of illicit trading.
The SGF will become a registered Human Intelligence Source, meaning that intelligence from SGF members on sales of illicit alcohol will go directly to the Task Force and be prioritised immediately.
Retailers and local businesses will be able to report illegal sales confidentially to the SGF who will then pass the information on to HMRC.
John Lee, public affairs manager for the SGF, said: “Retailers are the best source of intelligence there is – they know who is selling illegal alcohol in their area and they know the impact this has on their businesses.”