Contraband

An unexpected discovery

Frank G Whitworth High Court Enforcement Officers were directed to enforce a writ of control against a distribution business in the North of England.

On the first visit the premises were locked up and no vehicles were parked on site. A small opening had been cut in the loading bay roller shutter door for post. Through this the enforcement agent could see there were large items of packaging inside. He rang the number on the door, but no one answered so paperwork was left giving the defendant a few days to make contact and pay the debt.

A second visit revealed the premises were still locked but the enforcement agent could see the goods inside had moved around. He could now see a fork lift truck which previously was not visible. Also the paperwork left previously had gone.

Early the next morning the enforcement agent met a locksmith and entered the premises. The warehouse part was full of packages tightly bound in plastic packaging. The offices had been abandoned and were empty.

The enforcement agent began to ring the telephone numbers on a white board on the office wall. Eventually he managed to speak with a director of the company who informed him they had been forced to move premises some weeks earlier following a flood and to his knowledge the premises were vacant pending the insurance claim.

The enforcement agent told the company director about the writ. The director apologised and immediately paid the writ in full by bank transfer.

The enforcement agent and the locksmith were about to leave when they noticed one of the packages was open.

Four hours later the property had been stripped bare by the Police. Inside the packages were over 1000 bottles of vodka and thousands of boxes of cigarettes. Contraband.

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