Group found to have distributed 5.8 tonnes of illegal tobacco
A GLASGOW-BASED ringleader of a tobacco smuggling operation has been jailed for more than seven years for helping to distribute nearly 16 tonnes of illegal tobacco.
Yuanjian Zhou – of Charles Street, Glasgow – was sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison at Luton Crown Court on 26 February for his part in the illegal smuggling operation.
Alongside Zhou, two other accomplices were also sentenced including Bryan Kim and Faruque Hussein – who were both based in Luton.
The gang smuggled and distributed a total of 5.8 tonnes of illegal tobacco during a three-year period from March 2018.
HMRC officers searched residential properties and storage units across Luton, Leicester and Nottingham and uncovered a massive tobacco haul, worth nearly £1.5million in evaded duty.
Zhou’s wife, Ruifang Zhang, was also found guilty of money laundering and fraud after she had used the illegal scheme to pay the deposit on a house and for monthly mortgage payments. She also used fake details to apply for the mortgage.
Zhou, Kim and Hussein were charged with cheating the public revenue and were convicted after a four-week trial. Zhou is set to serve a seven year and seven months sentence for his crime, whilst Kim and Hussein will serve three years and four months
Zhang was found guilty of money laundering and mortgage fraud worth £270,000 and faces two years and five months behind bars.
Peter Vivian, operational lead at the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “The trade in illicit cigarettes and tobacco damages funding for essential public services and undermines legitimate traders including small, independent shops that serve local communities.
“We continue to work closely with our partners to relentlessly pursue the determined minority who refuse to play by the rules.
“We urge anyone with information about smuggling, distribution or sale of illicit tobacco to report it online.”
