SMUGGLING AND SEIZURES.—In order to prevent smuggling there exist a voluminous body of statute law and regulations thereunder, and a vast army of customs officials to watch ships and persons passing to and fro between the United Kingdom and foreign countries and to prevent infractions of the law. And those who pass to and fro, or forward or receive goods, have also a duty to perform, of which an important detail is a declaration and production of all dutiable or prohibited goods that accompany them or are carried on ships under their control. It would be impossible to set out here more than the slightest indication of the law and regulations relating to the importation and exportation of dutiable or prohibited goods and of the methods adopted for preventing the evasion of the law. Only under some few heads, therefore, will the subject be noticed.
Illegally is section 186 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1879, that particularly indicates the character of an unlawful importation. The section runs as follows :— Every person who shall import or bring, or be concerned in importing or bringing into the United Kingdom any prohibited goods or any goods the im portation of which is restricted, contrary to such prohibition or restriction, whether the same be unshipped or not ; or shall unship, or assist or be otherwise concerned in the unshipping of any goods which are prohibited, or of any goods which are restricted and imported contrary to such restriction, or of any goods liable to duty, the duties for which have not been paid or secured ; or shall deliver, remove, or withdraw from any ship, quay, wharf, or other place previous to the examination thereof by the proper officer of customs, unless under the care or authority of such officer, any goods imported into the United Kingdom or any goods entered to be warehoused after the landing thereof, so that no sufficient account is taken thereof by the proper officer, or so that the same are not duly warehoused ; or shall carry into the warehouse any goods entered to be ware housed or to be re-warehoused, except with the authority or under the care of the proper officer of the customs, and in such manner, by such persons, within such time, and by such roads or ways as such officer shall direct ; or shall assist or be otherwise concerned in the illegal removal or withdrawal of any goods from any warehouse or place of security in which they shall have been deposited ; or shall knowingly harbour, keep, or conceal, or knowingly permit or suffer, or cause or procure to be harboured, kept, or concealed, any prohibited, restricted, or uncustomed goods, or any goods which shall have been illegally removed without payment of duty from any warehouse or place of security in which they may have been deposited.; or shall knowingly acquire possession of any such goods ; or shall
be in any way knowingly concerned in carrying, removing, depositing, concealing, or in any manner dealing with any such goods with intent to defraud his Majesty of any duties due thereon, or to evade any prohibition or restriction of or applicable to such goods ; or shall be in any way knowingly concerned in any fraudulent evasion or attempt at evasion of any duties of customs, or of the laws and restrictions of the customs relating to the importation, unshipping, landing, and delivery of goods, or otherwise contrary to the Customs Acts ; shall for each such offence forfeit either treble the value of the goods, including the duty payable thereon, or .£100, at the election of the Commissioners of Customs ; and the offender may either be detained or proceeded against by summons.
Seizure of section 185, if any passenger or other person on board a ship or boat, or who may have landed from any ship or boat, shall, upon being questioned by an officer of customs whether he has any foreign goods upon his person, or in his possession, or in his baggage, deny the same, and any such goods shall after such denial be discovered to be or to have been upon his person, or in his possession, or in his baggage, such goodS will be forfeited, and such person will forfeit X100, or treble the value of such goods, at the election of the Commissioners of Customs.