Rowley Regis man jailed after counterfeit cigarette smuggling gang is caught
A Rowley Regis man who was part of a smuggling gang caught red-handed with millions of counterfeit cigarettes at a Lincolnshire farm has been jailed.
The small village of Midville, in East Lindsey, served as the base for the gang of six, including Ihtesham Khalid, who were caught with more than 6.5millon cigarettes, worth more than £1.8m in evaded duty.
Officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) arrested Marcin Kopec, 44, and Wojciech Rymarczuk, 46, as they unloaded three large shipping containers at the farm in June 2019.
Gang leader, Tomasz Skubis, 37, and co-conspirators, Idrees Ahmed, 44 and Ali Tofiq, 45, were arrested on the same day 19 miles away on the A58 near Baumber in a hire car that had been linked to the gang.
Khalid, of Habberley Road, Rowley Regis, was linked to the smuggling operation through surveillance, phone calls and text messages.
At Nottingham Crown Court earlier this month he was convicted of conspiracy to evade excise duty sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison, with the gang in total being jailed for a total of 26.
Richard Paris, assistant director in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: “This gang was large, organised, sophisticated, and determined to break the law.
“Illegal cigarettes come at a huge cost stealing money from our vital public services.
“Anyone with information about people or businesses involved in the sale, storage or smuggling of illicit tobacco can contact HMRC online. Search ‘Report Fraud HMRC’ on GOV.UK and complete our online form.”
During the sentencing, Judge William Harbage remarked monies evaded should be used to fund public services, speaking to Khalid he said “The evidence you gave was nonsense, and beyond belief and the Jury did not buy it for one minute.”
