Contraband

Our Pub Guide office is smack in the middle of what used to be serious smuggling country. In the old days, this part of Kent and Sussex was crawling with brandy smugglers. There was one famous pitched battle between a big smuggling gang and the Revenue officers, around the Star & Eagle in Goudhurst (a smart hotel now, with a nice bar still – log fires, lovely views and good beers).

Generally, though, it was all just part of local life, respectable even – with the priests and gents getting their illicit but cheap kegs delivered on the quiet, like everyone else.

Smuggling is still big business – just how big can be gauged from the fact that in the last three years £70 million worth of smuggled or knock-off alcohol has been seized by Customs, and another £830 million worth of cigarettes. My guess is that this represents only a small fraction of what the modern-day smugglers are successfully slipping in. What gets through must be worth £ millions every week.

Years ago I had an allotment near a West London pub where weekend car boots opened to show treasure-troves of all sorts of dodgy goods. But in the last decade I haven’t come across a single shady deal involving alcohol. Where does all this stuff go now? Are some particular cities flooded with cheap booze? Have you found white vans unloading cut-price vodka? Boot sale beer and brandy bonanzas? Where is it all – tell us!