12 Months Imprisonment For Tobacco Smugglers

Yves Stock, 40, of Jupille and Pierre Drion, 47, of Liege in Belgium have been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment each at Maidstone Crown Court for smuggling four tonnes of hand rolling tobacco into the country through Dover.

Drion and Stock were intercepted by Revenue and Customs officers at the inward freight controls at Eastern Docks in Dover on the 23 July. Both were driving Italian registered vehicles working for the same company and carrying loads of plastic. After questioning by officers the trailers were searched and both were found to contain tobacco in cardboard boxes concealed within the load. The amount of tobacco hidden in both vehicles totalled four tonnes, with the amount of revenue evaded being in excess of £400,000.

Steve Hazell, Press Officer for SE England said: "This is an excellent result for all honest traders. We will not hesitate to take action against those dealing in smuggled goods and evading duty. Selling smuggled tobacco products is not a harmless tax fiddle - it cheats the Government of Revenue, which can be used to fund vital public services in the Kent area, and jeopardises the trading of law-abiding tobacconists. I would urge anyone with knowledge of others importing or dealing in smuggled cigarettes to contact the Customs Confidential Hotline on 0800 59 5000 in confidence".