Two accused of fag smuggling
CUSTOMS officers at Felixstowe uncovered an attempt to smuggle nearly six million cigarettes into the country, a court heard.The 300,000 packets of cigarettes were in a container purporting to hold the personal belongings of a woman called Winifred Murphy, Ipswich Crown Court was told.
CUSTOMS officers at Felixstowe uncovered an attempt to smuggle nearly six million cigarettes into the country, a court heard.
The 300,000 packets of cigarettes were in a container purporting to hold the personal belongings of a woman called Winifred Murphy, Ipswich Crown Court was told.
However, when customs officers opened the container, which had been shipped from Tenerife, they found 5,968,000 cigarettes on which duty of £764,000 should have been paid, said Richard Milne prosecuting.
Before the court are Denis Price, 47, of Oldham, and Kevin Lovell, 39, from Somerset.
They have both denied being involved in an attempt to evade paying duty on the illegally imported cigarettes.
Mr Milne claimed the defendants were instrumental in arranging for the onward passage of the container after it arrived in Felixstowe.
Most Read
- 1 Revealed: The most popular Suffolk fish and chip shop
- 2 New independent baby shop opens in Ipswich
- 3 Road near Ipswich town centre closed after crash involving motorcyclist
- 4 Man used drawstring from JD Sports bag to drag woman to the ground
- 5 'Fresh and timeless' Greek cuisine comes to Ipswich
- 6 Village suffers power cut for 7 hours after vehicle hits electricity pole
- 7 Jailed in Suffolk: The criminals put behind bars this week
- 8 Suffolk man collapsed at friend's home
- 9 When will bins be collected in Ipswich this Bank Holiday weekend?
- 10 Final homes in 75-house development to go on sale
However after their arrest both defendants denied being involved in the smuggling attempt and claimed they had been innocent dupes.
The trial continues.