A gang member, who rented properties to use as delivery addresses for more than 14 tonnes of smuggled tobacco worth £3.1m in evaded VAT and duty, has been jailed.
Emmanuel Cieply, 57, of no fixed abode, rented three properties in Bradford, Leeds and Liverpool where 1,041 packages containing illegal tobacco products were delivered between October 2014 and February 2016.
Cieply was arrested at a property on Longroyd Avenue, Leeds, after a damaged parcel was found to contain 76kG of hand-rolling tobacco in December 2015. Duty had not been paid on the Amber Leaf branded products, which were seized by UK Border Force.
HMRC officers searched the property and found £70,810 cash in a duvet cover and packaging identical to that seized by UK Border Force.
Cieply admitted excise fraud at Leeds Crown Court and was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
Culture at the Heart of Stockport’s Transformation
South Asian Art Exhibition Opens at Cartwright Hall
Men’s Mental Fitness Programme Launches in Blackburn
Former Teacher Charged with 1990s Child Sex Offences
Council Calls for Tougher Fly-Tipping Sentences
Man Jailed for Raping and Exploiting Vulnerable Teen in Stockport
Free Midsummer Festival to Return to Milton Keynes
Leeds Sets Out ‘Landmark Year of Opportunity’ for Major Projects
Calderdale Council Considers Stronger Enforcement Powers
£8.5m Plan Approved to Transform Blackburn Church into Creative Hub
Tribute paid to hospital radio legend Patrick Murphy
Remix Saturdays
Legal Show
Bhangra Nights
Alim OnAir