Appeal to report illegal alcohol and cigarette sales after Black Country shopkeeper snared
Fraud investigators have called on people to report the sale of illegal alcohol and cigarettes after a Black Country man was caught with thousands of pounds worth of illicit goods.
Arkani Muradi was last week jailed for 26 months.
The 36-year-old Wolverhampton shopkeeper admitted fraudulent evasion of excise duty as well as breaking other trading laws.
Richard Young, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Muradi made elaborate attempts to evade capture and continued to trade in illicit tobacco and alcohol stealing from taxpayers and honest retailers. But, despite his efforts, officers were able to prove he was responsible for the fraud.
“Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit tobacco and alcohol markets, which costs the UK around £3 billion a year. We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to contact the Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
Ross Cook, service director for city environment at Wolverhampton council, said: “The council, along with its partners at HMRC, takes a robust and determined approach to the supply of illicit tobacco and alcohol.
“These illegal activities have a significant detrimental effect on the local economy, undercut honest traders and supply harmful products at pocket money prices.”
Muradi lied to the HMRC claiming he was a sales assistant at Euro Shop in Newhampton Road West, Whitmore Reans, as opposed to the owner, and gave a false name when the investigators quizzed him.
More than £77,000 worth of non-duty paid tobacco and alcohol was found under the counter and in a nearby storage unit he had rented under an alias.
Officers discovered more than 246,000 illegal cigarettes at the storage unit hidden in boxes packaged as crisps and sausages. Muradi again tried to cover his tracks by ending his rental agreement for the unit, using yet another alias, but was rumbled when officers recognised it as one he had previously used in a telephone conversation with them.
Separately, Wolverhampton council’s trading standards were alerted and launched Operation Riposte in response in July 2015.
Illicit cigarettes including counterfeited brands were found hidden in increasingly elaborate places, including behind false walls and under floorboards.
Rather than stopping his activities, Muradi carried on regardless. Another raid in November 2015 uncovered a further 3,000 illicit cigarettes, hidden under the fridge and in a hole in the wall behind the cigarette gantry.
In total, trading standards seized 133,800 cigarettes; 35.1 kg of hand rolling tobacco and 186 bottles of non-duty paid alcohol.
Muradi was caught with 380,541 illegal cigarettes, 36.3 kgs of hand rolling tobacco and 195 bottles of non-duty paid alcohol, with an estimated tax loss of £99,302.
A confiscation hearing to recover the proceeds of his crime will follow.
Muradi, of Highfield Road, Great Barr, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of excise duty contrary to Section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1970, plus offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994; the Fraud Act 1994 and Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, during a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 27 March 2017. He was sentenced on Wednesday, June 7.
