Wolverhampton shopkeeper hid fake cigarettes behind false walls and dodged £100k tax

Arkani Muradi had more than 400,000 fake and smuggled cigarettes, kilos of rolling tobacco and almost 200 bottles of spirits, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The contraband was hidden in the Euro Shop and a flat above it at Newhampton Road West, Whitmore Reans, as well as a self storage unit at Alligator Storage in Portway Road, Wednesbury.

It was uncovered in seven raids, variously involving Revenue and Customs officers, police and Wolverhampton Trading Standards officials, between August 2014 and November 2015.

Sniffer dogs found cigarettes concealed behind a false wall and below the bottom shelf of the shop counter, both of which were held together by electro magnets.

These were controlled by secret switches and had to be prised open with crowbars by investigators. Other stashes were hidden in an oven, under floorboards, behind a gantry and beneath a fridge.

More than 240,000 cigarettes, on which duty had been avoided, were recovered from cardboard boxes, marked as Polish crisps and sausages, at the self storage unit on January 22, 2015.

The Euro Shop, which Muradi took control of in 2008, was at the heart of the racket run by the 36-year-old.

Mr Tony Watkin, prosecuting, said nearly £100,000 worth of duty had been evaded and no VAT paid.

Muradi repeatedly tried to blame others for the contraband and used the false name of Omar Sevar as a cover to book the self storage unit and register for VAT at the shop.

Two days after a raid on Euro Shop, on August 24, 2014, investigators had a call telling them it was owned by Omar Sevar and giving details of his mobile phone number.

A search of Muradi's home later uncovered the SIM card for this and documents showing payments were made from his bank account to pay off a debt supposedly run up by Sevar.

Mr Watkin concluded: "These things happened too many times for him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. All roads led to him. There was a clear and compelling case that he was evading duty."

On the second day of his trial, Muradi, of Highfield Road, Great Barr, changed his plea to guilty to 16 charges that included participating in a fraudulent business, evading duty, unauthorised use of a trade mark and engaging in unfair commercial practice.

Mr Lee Egan, defending, conceded: "He knows he is in some difficulty and has never been in custody before."

Muradi, who is known to have travelled several times between this country and Iraq, was remanded for pre-sentence reports until May 3.

He was held in custody until his passport and any other document allowing international travel had been handed to police.