Two men have been
jailed for their role in a plot to smuggle nearly 24 million
counterfeit cigarettes into the Midlands, following an
investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The
conspiracy would have seen nearly £4 million drained from the UK
economy through duty evasion.
Unbeknown to the defendants HMRC criminal investigators were
aware of their elaborate plans and were watching as a consignment
of 5.3 million counterfeit cigarettes were delivered to an
industrial unit in Leicester in July 2009.
Paul Barton, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for
HMRC, said:
“This was organised crime on an industrial scale. Their plans
were extremely well engineered in their bid to saturate the
Midlands with illicit cigarettes – most of which were counterfeit.
This was all about lining their own pockets and they had no regard
to the potential harm such criminal activity causes to
individuals, communities and legitimate businesses.”
Background
London based defendants Andreas Apostolides and Costas Georgiou,
were the masterminds behind the conspiracy. They formed a company
called Bellgate in 2002 and a further company called Orion in
2009. These companies were used to front the smuggling operation
in an attempt to present themselves as legitimate importers,
mainly of dried pasta from Greece and stoneware from China. They
were found guilty of conspiracy to evade duty through smuggling
four separate consignments of counterfeit cigarettes which had
been seized by HMRC officers including:
July 2009 – a consignment of nearly 5.3 million counterfeit
Regal cigarettes, seized from a unit at Rosswalk Industrial
Business Park, Leicester. March 2009 - a consignment concealing
around 7.5 million counterfeit cigarettes branded as Gold Classic
destined for Saltley, Birmingham. The container was hijacked in an
armed raid from the gates of the Birmingham trading estate but was
seized later that day by West Midlands Police attending a separate
offence at a unit in Small Heath, Birmingham. March 2009 - a
consignment concealing nearly 7 million illicit Racquel
cigarettes, destined for Saltley, Birmingham, was seized at
Tilbury docks. September 2008 - a consignment concealing around 4
million counterfeit cigarettes of various brands was seized in
Tipton, West Midlands. Three men from the West Midlands pleaded
guilty to tobacco smuggling offences relating to this seizure and
were sentenced in March 2010.
CEN 13/12
Notes to Editors
Pictures of the defendants and photographs of the goods are
available on request. 2. Details of the defendants sentenced
yesterday, 20 March 2012, following a month long trial at Ipswich
Crown Court include: Andreas Apostolides, (DOB 31.07.49), of 5
Ridge Terrace, Green Lanes, London, was sentenced to five years in
prison.Costas Georgiou, (DOB 31.07.39), of 1 Hill Road, Muswell
Hill, London. was sentenced to was sentenced to five years in
prison. Georgiou and co-defendant Apostolides were the main
organisers of the smuggling conspiracy. They were found guilty of
conspiracy to fraudulently evade excise contrary to the Customs
and Excise Management Act 1979. 3. Those sentenced in March 2010
at Wolverhampton Crown Court include:
Contacts:
Jennie Kendall
Phone: 07810 815832
jennie.kendall@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
Bob Gaiger
Phone: 01404 811532
bob.gaiger@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
HMRC Out of Hours
Phone: 07860 359544
NDS.HMRC@coi.gsi.gov.uk