In my 31 years in the dockyard, I was never troubled by the Customs & Excise or the police.
Searched a few times by the dockyard police, then released.
One dockyardman I knew, used to take a (few ?) items home. One day he was stopped by the
police. Instead of stopping, he reved up his motor cycle & side car, then roared out the gate.
The policeman stopped a motor cycle coming into the yard & said ` follow that motor bike.
The result he was caught, home searched, he had dockyard small mats ( with red or green
borders ) there was even a front door mat. Also a couple of brass clocks.
What put the police on to him was, he used to hammer brass clips to straighten them, for sale.
His neighbour was so fed up with him hammering at midnight, he shopped him. He was dismissed.