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Bradford man one of trio jailed after 10 million illegal cigarettes discovered near York

Wednesday, 18 December 2019 11:35

A Bradford man is one of a trio jailed after they were caught with millions of illegal cigarettes at a farm in York

Michael Haley, 39, Rafal Miller, 37, and Grzegorz Kojak, 50, were found with illegal tobacco products worth £3,041,476 in unpaid duty, concealed inside metal containers packed in cardboard boxes following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.

HMRC officers caught the men loading cigarettes into a van at a farm on Driffield Road, Huggate, York, in September 2018.

The trio were arrested, and 10,853,500 cigarettes were seized from the van, a warehouse on the farm and a lorry trailer parked inside.

One other man fled the scene and enquiries are ongoing into his whereabouts.

The trio admitted excise fraud at Hull Crown Court on March 8 and were each sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Friday December 14.

Speaking on the case, Deputy Director of the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, Brett Wilkinson, said: “This was a deliberate attempt to flood the streets with illegal cigarettes and deprive our public services of millions of pounds.

“Hayley, Kojak and Miller thought their smuggling scam would go unnoticed – but they were wrong and now they are paying the price.

“We will continue to pursue criminals who think stealing from taxpayers is acceptable.”

A Bradford man is one of a trio jailed after they were caught with millions of illegal cigarettes at a farm in York

Michael Haley, 39, Rafal Miller, 37, and Grzegorz Kojak, 50, were found with illegal tobacco products worth £3,041,476 in unpaid duty, concealed inside metal containers packed in cardboard boxes following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.

HMRC officers caught the men loading cigarettes into a van at a farm on Driffield Road, Huggate, York, in September 2018.

The trio were arrested, and 10,853,500 cigarettes were seized from the van, a warehouse on the farm and a lorry trailer parked inside.

One other man fled the scene and enquiries are ongoing into his whereabouts.

The trio admitted excise fraud at Hull Crown Court on March 8 and were each sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Friday December 14.

Speaking on the case, Deputy Director of the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, Brett Wilkinson, said: “This was a deliberate attempt to flood the streets with illegal cigarettes and deprive our public services of millions of pounds.

“Hayley, Kojak and Miller thought their smuggling scam would go unnoticed – but they were wrong and now they are paying the price.

“We will continue to pursue criminals who think stealing from taxpayers is acceptable.”

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