​Tobacco smuggler jailed for six years

The head of an international tobacco smuggling operation was sentenced to six years in prison at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday, after being found guilty of tax evasion and money laundering at a trial in October.

Jatinder Bains, 52, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, smuggled more than 20 million illegal cigarettes into the UK, worth £4.5m in evaded duty, by using a network of haulage firms, drivers and trucks.

His crimes caught up with him when criminal investigators from the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) in the Netherlands passed on phone recordings to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that proved Bains was smuggling cigarettes into the UK with the help of Dutch criminal gangs.

More than three million Regal- and Marlboro-branded cigarettes were seized after a lorry shipment linked to Bains was searched in Dover.

A further 3.2 million illegitimate cigarettes were found hidden behind boxes of ice cream cones and biscuits at an industrial unit in Sandbach. Brands included: Lambert and Butler, Jims, Richman and Gold Classic.

HMRC officers seized the cigarettes and discovered a further plot to smuggle cigarettes into the country from Vietnam.

Kate Roberts, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said:

”Bains imported and distributed vast amounts of cigarettes and evaded millions of pounds of taxes. That’s money that should have been supporting our public services instead of funding further plots to smuggle cigarettes.

“We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to report it online.”

Wendy Martin, director of National Trading Standards, urged retailers to source tobacco responsibly.

She told Convenience Store: “We advise retailers only buy their tobacco from reputable sources. The temptation to buy from “one off ” suppliers is a risk not worth taking and any tobacco being offered cheaply is to be avoided. Tackling illegal supply at retail level is a core activity for National Trading Standards with Operation CeCe – our joint initiative with HMRC – seizing millions of cigarettes and large quantities of hand-rolling tobacco annually.

“Retailers should make themselves aware of the tobacco track and trace regulations, what is required of them as suppliers of tobacco and potential penalties if they supply non-compliant products. The regulations indicate the security measures that are incorporated into every packet of tobacco that is supplied. Counterfeit products will not comply with the requirements of the track and trace regulations and are illegal under the Trade Marks Act. Retailers can find more information at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-track-and-trace-penalties.”