A TAXI call handler returned from a trip to Pakistan with eight suitcases full of illegal cigarettes.
Razwan Khan, 37, flew into Manchester Airport from Lahore carrying 64,400 non-duty paid cigarettes, a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation found.
Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court heard that when Khan and another passenger were stopped by Border Force officers the defendant said all the cigarettes were his. The total duty evaded was £22,589.
Khan, of Hildrop Road, Nelson, admitted the fraudulent evasion of excise duty and was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years.
The seized cigarettes were ordered to be destroyed.
Adam Knight, Assistant Director Border Force North, said: “Border Force officers are alert to travellers who attempt to evade the duty on goods brought back to the UK from abroad. Detections such as this are testament to that and help protect the economy.
“The black market in cigarettes and tobacco cheats honest traders and we will continue to work with HMRC to identify the people responsible for attempts like this and bring them to justice.”
A HMRC spokesperson said: “This was an organised attempt to smuggle tens of thousands of cigarettes into the UK and cheat the public purse. The duty evaded is equivalent to the wages of a trainee firefighter for a year.
"I urge anyone with information about tobacco smuggling or fraud to contact us online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
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