Another business plan down the toilet

[ozzy72]

Well I'll just have to think of another method of earning pocket money... the police are hip to this idea

A pilot suspected of using his light aircraft to fly illegal immigrants into the UK was arrested yesterday after a chase across the skies.
Police think the 46-year-old Surrey man could have raked in as much as

[Fozzer]

I always reckoned that flying small GA "cargo" planes, avoiding Ministry Officials, is much more fun than flying boring old Jumbo 747's across the Atlantic with boring old passengers... ...!

LOL...!

Cheers Ozzy... ...!

Paul. ..just off to France, below radar, under cover of darkness, for another load of vino to avoid the the dreaded Customs and Excise Duty... ...!
LOL...LOL...LOL...!

[Saitek]

What an awful bunch of criminals we have on here!

Ben

[Fozzer]

What an awful bunch of criminals we have on here!

Ben

Hi Ben...!

...you wont find a nicer bunch of criminals anywhere... ...!

Cheers Ben... ...!

Paul....we train both pilots and criminals... ...!

[Hagar]

My family name is associated with smuggling. If you visit the Ryde Museum on the Isle of Wight there are more Attrill's in the old criminal records than any other name. Smuggling used to be regarded as an honourable profession around these parts. Even the local vicars were at it.

[ozzy72]

Have you read Back Of The Wight Doug? My family are mentioned in there with regard to some smuggling episodes as well
Mind you some of the stories are hysterically funny, but as the easiest place near France to land brandy....

[Hagar]

No but it sounds interesting. I must look out for it. Thanks.

[DougC-3]

My family name is associated with smuggling. If you visit the Ryde Museum on the Isle of Wight there are more Attrill's in the old criminal records than any other name. Smuggling used to be regarded as an honourable profession around these parts. Even the local vicars were at it.

Very interesting .  I can't help wondering about the nature of the contraband...   Mind if I ask what they were smuggling .

[ozzy72]

Doug about 100 to 150 years ago the big thing was ALCOHOL
The British government introduced some kind of excise tax, and the Isle of Wight is not far from France, and has lots of handy alcoves for smuggling, so schooners would come across in the dead of night and drop loads of barrels tied together with chains off of certain coves. Then men would wade in to find the chains and drag the load into shallow water (using the tide to help them), and hide the barrels and casks in caves.
Brandy was the most popular, and was distributed under cover of darkness to customers (particularly pubs), then the money was collected and the schooner owners share, plus the money for the alcohol itself sent to the right people.
My grandfather told me a funny story about his grandfather once getting some local officals who were searching houses, for a load of brandy they knew had arrived, absolutely drunk on the contraband

[Hagar]

[quote]
Very interesting .

[ozzy72]

That is a great link Doug, v.interesting reading.

Thanks
Mark

[DougC-3]

Yes, very interesting subject and site, Doug.  Thanks!  We had our "rum runners" here in the US during the Prohibition days (1920-33), but it's not as colorful & romantic as what took place longer ago in England.  Any ancestral connections I might have with this sort of thing would more likely involve "moonshining" in the southern Appalachians, which went on before and after Prohibition as well.  

But for some reason my ancestors didn't keep many written records .