Smugglers hid cigarettes from Eastern Europe to avoid £10m tax duty jailed | Mail Online

00:25 Smugglers hid cigarettes from Eastern Europe to avoid £10m tax duty jailed 0 Comments

Smugglers hid cigarettes from Eastern Europe to avoid £10m tax duty jailed | Mail Online: "The court heard that Peter Vyse worked alongside three members of a Southern Italian organised crime syndicate called Albino, Maurizio and Angelo Prudentino.

The Prudentinos were described as being 'at the top of the pyramid', of the smuggling network, with Vyse heading its UK arm.

Vyse travelled regularly to Greece and Romania to co-ordinate with suppliers and producers of contraband tobacco.

The cigarettes, branded with famous names such as Royal, were traced back to factories in Moldova and Ukraine, both of which border Romania.

From her base in Athens, Thurston set up three fake food importation companies, which were used to provide a cover for the shipments.

Once they had arrived in Britain, huge quantities of cigarettes were sent to a warehouse in the village of Denaby Main, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and distributed from there.

But the smuggling organisation was smashed in a series of coordinated arrests on June 17 2008, following a secret surveillance operation by customs officials.

Mr Jory told the court the gang avoided paying £2m in duty on the five consignments seized, but said the true figure was closer to £10m because there had been at least 10 previous shipments."

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