Customs officers can destroy contraband goods already seized from smugglers, even though they may have wrongfully stopped the passengers, following a ruling in the Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile ordinary shoppers will retain the right to buy large amounts of cigarettes and alcohol on their so-called booze cruises.

To take action against them, customs must prove that they were illegally smuggling goods.

The Appeal Court ruling follows a request from Customs and Excise for the court to clarify certain points in the new laws on cross-channel shopping.

The changes were introduced in October and hailed as a victory for booze cruisers by ruling that passengers entering the UK from Europe could not be searched without "reasonable grounds" for suspicion.

'Minimum interference'

However, the ruling left customs officers in a quandary with a big collection of 'unlawfully' seized goods and vehicles.

This money goes back into the public purse for public spending John Healey, Customs minister

Although the goods were contraband, officers had not logged the reasons for stopping and searching the vehicles and had therefore broken the rule on proving 'reasonable grounds' for suspicion.

The Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the seizure itself was valid, clearing up a grey area on its recent rulings.

Customs minister John Healey said: "We can ensure minimum interference of honest shoppers, but continue our drive to stamp out cross-channel smuggling."

Mr Healey added that Customs officers had already reduced losses from bootlegged alcohol and cigarettes by 80% in the past two years.

"This money goes back into the public purse for public spending," said Mr Healey.

Clearing the passage

The Court of Appeal also clarified key points included in the October ruling.

(This) makes crystal clear the rights of shoppers and puts beyond doubt the actions of Customs in tackling smugglers John Healey, Customs Minister

It said shoppers can bring the increased quotas of alcohol and cigarettes for their own use only, but could not exchange these for payment of any kind.

However, large quantities of goods for parties or entertaining are allowed.

The Court also reinforced the point that customs officers may no longer randomly stop shoppers but must prove reasonable grounds for suspicion that smuggling has taken place.

On this point, the Court ruled that it was possible to use trends or profiles of previous smugglers as grounds for suspecting a passenger.

Cutting down

The government published its latest figures on the smuggling problem as part of its pre-Budget report.

They showed that cigarette smuggling fell between 2001-2002 for the first time in a decade.

Mr Healey said the new ruling on cross-channel shopping "makes crystal clear the rights of shoppers and puts beyond doubt the actions of Customs in tackling smugglers".