West Midlands cigarette smugglers sent to jail

4 Oct 2006 05:15 PM

An undercover operation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has resulted in four men being sent to prison for a total of 6.75 years on Friday, at Wolverhampton Crown Court for their part in a plot to smuggle 2.8 million cigarettes into the UK and evade excise duty of £420,000.

Nick Burriss, Assistant Chief Investigation Officer for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said: "This is an excellent result for all honest traders. We will not hesitate to take action against those smuggling cigarettes into the country. These sentences will serve as a deterrent to others. Smuggling cigarettes is not a harmless tax fiddle. It cheats the Government of revenue which can be used to fund public services such as hospitals and schools."

The court heard that three men from the West Midlands and a Cypriot national, who was the driver of the lorry containing the smuggled cigarettes, were intercepted in the West Midlands by Customs Officers on 19 July 2005 and were subsequently charged with revenue evasion under the Customs and Excise Management Act. The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

In sentencing the men His Honour Judge Webb, said:

"This was a sophisticated, well-planned and professional smuggling operation which involved a large container of cigarettes. This offence is serious, cheating honest taxpayers and causing suffering to local businesses." His Honour also found that the driver of the lorry had benefited from his criminal conduct and made a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in the sum of £100,000.

This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority, which reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases in England & Wales.

Note to editors

Details of the defendants are as follows:

* Lance Brookes, 19, un-employed of 19 West Street, Bilston, West Midlands, sentenced to 21 months for his managerial role in the smuggling plot.

* Carl Arnold, 23, unemployed of 5 Steven Drive, Bilston, West Midlands, sentenced to 12 months.

* Roger Wright, 48, unemployed of 21 Cherry Road, Tipton, West Midlands sentenced to 15 months.

* Adonis Charilaou, 42, an HGV driver from Limassol, Cyprus, sentenced to 33 months.

The Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was created by Royal Assent on 7 April 2005 and is responsible for prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK.

Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Media Relations Team

Website www.hmrc.gov.uk