Cigarette smuggler used revolving number plates
Smuggler Andreu Silivaniuk, 34, was jailed for two years and seven months in prison for fraudulent evasion of import duty. Silivaniuk was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on 9 January.
Mr Silivaniuk, a Belarusian national, was apprehended by Border Force officers in Dover as he tried to smuggle more than 6 million cigarettes past UK customs. The lorry he was driving had been equipped with a mechanism that allowed him to revolve his number plates to show bogus registration numbers. The ploy proved unsuccessful, however, and Silivaniuk was stopped at the port of Dover in June 2025.
The number plate gadget was discovered after officials spotted that the lorry's number plates did not match the registration number on the cab's wheel arch. The device was said to be "reminiscent of an Aston Martin DB5 used by James Bond".
Border Force officers who searched the heavy goods vehicle discovered 6,349,800 cigarettes from several different brands. The contraband had been concealed amongst a genuine shipment of Bentley car parts bound for the car maker's factory.
Investigators also found two mobile phones and a tablet which had been damaged along with the lorry's tachograph, possibly in an attempt to hide details of the vehicle's routes.
When stopped and challenged, Silivaniuk produced paperwork for his cargo of car parts but denied having any cigarettes.
Taxi driver loses licence due to "ghost plates"
A taxi driver's licence was revoked for driving a cab fitted with illegal number plates, and having incorrect insurance.
Cheltenham Borough Council's enforcement team, working in cooperation with officers from Avon and Somerset Police, stopped the taxi during a Cheltenham horse racing meeting on 15 November 2025.
When stopped, the Wolverhampton-licensed vehicle was found to be displaying none of the required badges. It was also fitted with illegal number plates intended to defeat automatic number plate recognition cameras. The so-called "ghost plates" are often used to conceal a vehicle's registration number from speed cameras and to avoid paying congestion and emissions charges.
The taxi driver was also discovered to have presented Wolverhampton Council with a fraudulent insurance certificate.
Scottish burglary gang used cloned number plates
A five-man burglary gang who entered a Dunbar house fled the crime scene in a getaway car displaying cloned registration plates, police said.
The break-in occurred on Dunbar’s Reid Avenue on January 23 2026. Police were called at around 7pm, after two courageous neighbours confronted the thieves and tried to stop them escaping with a stolen safe. One of the neighbours recorded video of the gang while the other neighbour scuffled with perpetrators.
Video shared on social media show the gang loading the stolen safe into the back of their white Audi A4, displaying cloned plates. It was later confirmed that jewellery and money had been stolen from the house. The getaway car initially sped off with its boot still open, allowing the safe to fall out. Gang members returned and retrieved it before escaping.
Police are asking the public for information regarding the white Audi A4, which was displaying plates beginning with the characters YM11.
A police spokesperson said "We are asking anyone who has any information regarding this crime, who hasn't yet spoken to police, to telephone 101, quoting reference number 2914 of January 23, 2026. If you saw this vehicle being driven in and around the Dunbar area or have any details on this car or its whereabouts, please contact us."
Stolen number plate
The front number plate was stolen from a vehicle while it was parked in Wythall, near Birmingham and Solihull last month. Thieves took the number plate from a silver Hyundai i800 that was parked in Morey Close.
Police have appealed for information, and have said that anyone who might be able to help should email the Alvechurch and Wythall Safer Neighbourhood Team at: aw.snt@westmercia.police.uk, or call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Van with fake plates causes damage
A van, displaying fake number plates, was recklessly driven through a Kent village at the end of last month, damaging several vehicles.
Police were alerted after the van collided with, and caused damage to, several vehicles in the Church Road area of Crockenhill, near Swanley, on Saturday January 31. Police officers attended the scene and confirmed that there were no reported injuries.
The van is said to have damaged vehicles in Church Road, Crockenhill. Officers attended and there were no reports of injuries.
The white Ford Transit van, which was displaying false number plates, was later found abandoned and seized.
Man deported after police spot cloned foreign number plates
Police on the A30 in Cornwall noticed that three, apparently unrelated, cars had displayed the same Slovakian number plate. Devon & Cornwall Police’s Road Safety Team officers first spotted something amiss with a red Seat travelling at a fairly high speed near Cornwall's only city of Truro. Police officers realised that the car's number plate looked familiar.
In fact, the plate had been seen on two other vehicles, on two separate occasions, once in February 2025 and another in January 2026. Its appearance on the red Seat was the third.
Patrols were directed to be vigilant and before long the car triggered ANPR cameras, and officers intercepted it.
The Romanian driver was arrested on suspicion of several offences, and the car was seized. A passenger in the car was found to have an expired visa, and so he was also arrested. Border Force arranged for the man's deportation.
