Seven jailed for tobacco smuggling

SEVEN men have been jailed for their part in a £28m tobacco smuggling ring.

HM Revenue & Customs said the gang imported low grade and counterfeit tobacco, which was then sold across northern England and Scotland.

It estimates the scam cost the Government £28.5m in lost duty and VAT.

The gang was tracked down with the help of fingerprints and DNA found on discarded cans and bottles at sites where they had been transferring loads of cigarettes.

Ringleader Kamaran Khader of Greenock was jailed for six years for his role in sourcing the cigarettes and tobacco and arranging their delivery. Once in the UK, the goods were transported to industrial storage sites in Blackburn, Oldham, Essex, Ascot and Slough.

Jo Tyler, assistant director for criminal investigations at HMRC, said: “Khader and his gang were heavily involved in the importation and supply of illegal cigarettes. These men were making substantial criminal profits at the expense of the taxpayer and, by feeding the black market, were depriving honest retailers of the chance to earn a living. But, they were lazy when it came to clearing up after themselves, leaving evidence behind that proved their involvement in this crime.

The group came to the attention of HMRC in 2010 after officers found 390,000 cigarettes inside a transit van and a further 780,000 cigarettes hidden between sheets of insulation at an address in Blackburn. The gang was also linked to a seizure of 840,000 Jin Ling cigarettes in September 2011 in Oldham and a shipment of nine million Golden Eagle cigarettes which arrived in Southampton in April 2012.

Ahmed Salim Khezri of Rochdale was sentenced to six years; Sirwan Hassan of Glasgow and Ari Mohammed Rahimi of Oldham received five years; Khalim Khan of Walsall, Waleed Mohyi of Bolton, and Domink Kamusinski of Slough all received eight months.

Khader, Khezri, Hassan, Rahimi were all convicted for conspiracy to evade excise duty after a trial in Manchester. Khan faced the same charge but pleaded guilty. Mohyi and Kamusinski were jailed for money laundering and had entered guilty pleas.