South Yorkshire booze smugglers jailed for £3.8m tax fraud

    A South Yorkshire crime gang, who evaded £3.8m in duty and VAT by smuggling beer into the UK, has been jailed for a total of 19 years.

    The four men, who came from Doncaster and Rotherham, used duplicated paperwork to bring truckloads of beer into the country from France, Belgium and Germany in a scam known as diversion fraud.

    An investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) found the gang sold the illegally imported goods for cash on a “no VAT, no invoice” basis to small off licences and other retailers across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, predominantly in Doncaster, Hull and Scunthorpe.

    Ringleader Huseyin Zerze, of Lonsdale Avenue, Doncaster, used a sandwich shop in York as a front to hide his criminal scheme transforming it from making £30,000-a-year to spending around £1.5m on alcohol in five months.

    More from Local and National News

    Listener Club

    Get more with the Listener Club!

    • Bhangra Nights Bhangra Nights

      Get over the Weekday blues - Every Tuesday night is party night with the best Bhangra and Urban Asian Beats. The Bhangra Show every Tuesday between 8pm-11pm

    • The Golden Era The Golden Era

      The golden era of Bollywood celebrated in this weekly show full of classics taking you back in time. Every Sunday between 5pm - 7pm

    • Alim OnAir Alim OnAir

      Have you a question about the religious, cultural or tradition aspect of Islam? Then join Hazrat Maulana Fazal Dad in the weekly show every Friday between 8-9pm.

    • Remix Saturdays Remix Saturdays

      Every Saturday evening we turn to remixes of hit songs to get you in the Saturday night party mood! Every Saturday between 5pm - 8pm