It's believed gangs are repeatedly importing and exporting the same items, because every time goods leave the UK, the exporter can claim VAT back from the Government.

The BBC's Panorama programme, which has been investigating, says this so-called 'carousel fraud' could have accounted for £6.5 billion in UK trade in the last three months alone.

The programme will be screened on BBC1 at 10.15pm on Sunday.