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‘Duty free’ gang leader gets 8 years

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 23 October 2009

NAT 72/09

The leader of a gang of duty free shoppers, who never even boarded their international flights, was sentenced to 8 years in prison on 22 October. He bought cheap air tickets so that the gang members could gain access to lounges at UK airports where they bought thousands of duty free cigarettes and then either left the airport or boarded domestic flights.

The cigarettes were later sold on Tyneside evading thousands in excise duty and VAT.

Christopher Campbell (39) from Chapel Park in Newcastle upon Tyne bought the air tickets for flights from UK regional airports including Newcastle, Bristol, Liverpool and East Midlands to random destinations in order to gain access to their duty free lounges and shops.

The offences came to light when HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) staff at Newcastle International Airport were told that a passenger bound for Geneva had bought 16,000 cigarettes. However the same person was booked on a flight to Heathrow and was arrested. Campbell had booked both tickets.

Campbell was convicted on 22 October 2009 of excise evasion offences and money laundering offences thought to total more than £100,000 over a two year period.

John Houston, North East Head of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said:

“The motive behind this type of crime is quite simply greed. Campbell used the money to help fund an opulent lifestyle that saw him driving fast cars, buying designer goods and spending time at a members-only gym.

“To abuse the UK tax system for personal financial gain is a serious crime but this case highlights that despite the efforts made by criminals to hide their illegitimate profit we have the powers that enable us to get to the bottom of smuggling crime. I would urge anyone with information about smuggling activity to call the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

Whilst sentencing Campbell yesterday (Thursday 22 October) HHJ Beatrice Bolton at Newcastle Crown Court commented that Campbell was not simply involved in organised crime he was quite simply ‘an organiser’ of crime and made clear that due to the serious nature of the offences there was no alternative but to impose a lengthy custodial sentence.

Campbell was sentenced to 15 months in prison for money laundering and received 9 individual prison sentences of 9 months for each count of cigarette smuggling. In total he received a sentence of 96 months. The sentenced will run concurrently.

Confiscation proceedings were also started in order to try and recover the financial proceeds of his criminal activity.

Notes to Editors

1. Personal Details

Name: Christopher Campbell
DOB: 14/4/69
Address: Of no fixed address.
Previous address: Kearton Avenue, Chapel Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
Occupation: Unemployed

2. Background

Christopher CAMPBELL was the organiser of a large scale fraud based on the evasion of excise duty. He would book flights to destinations outside the European community for himself or others. The passenger would check in for the flight and use the boarding card to purchase a large quantity of duty free cigarettes. The passenger would not board the flight, but either evade controls and leave the airport or board a domestic flight to another UK airport. The cigarettes were then released onto the UK market without accounting for tax. All the evidence gathered indicated that Campbell was the organiser and in most instances participated in the evasion.

On 16 June 2006 HMRC staff at Newcastle International Airport were informed that a passenger with a boarding pass for easyJet flight 6465 to Geneva had purchased 16,000 duty free cigarettes. Officers established that the passenger was also booked on British Airways domestic flight 1327 to London Heathrow and that his ticket had been booked together with tickets for another two people including Christopher CAMPBELL. The person who had made the booking was Campbell.

The passenger was arrested at Newcastle Airport having boarded the BA flight for Heathrow. His holdall was also removed from the flight and found to contain 5,000 Regal cigarettes. When interviewed he stated that he had changed his plans and although he had used the original ticket for Geneva in order to purchase the cigarettes, it was his intention to fly to Heathrow, meet up with friends and then fly to Geneva. He did not know where the rest of the cigarettes were and did not know Christopher Campbell.

Campbell and the third passenger were both arrested at Heathrow with 11,000 cigarettes between them. It was confirmed that a hire-car had been booked for collection at Heathrow Airport on 16/06/06 and return to Newcastle Airport on 17/06/06. The named driver was Campbell and the credit card used for the booking was in possession of Christopher Campbell when he was arrested.

During investigations into his financial affairs it was established that Campbell had spent a large amount of money on credit cards over the previous two years. The bulk of his purchases were for flight tickets, car hire, hotel accommodation and duty free purchases.

On one credit card he had spent over £70,000 in two years and yet had no outstanding balance.

3. The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was created by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General and is responsible for prosecuting cases for HMRC and SOCA. It prosecutes some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK. For further information about RCPO, please contact their press office on 020 7147 7746 or visit www.rcpo.gov.uk.

Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office

Press enquiries only please contact:

Contacts:

HMRC Out of Hours
Phone: 07860 359544
NDS.HMRC@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Sara Gaines
Phone: 020 7147 0394
sara.gaines@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk