Washington man jailed for storing bootleg cigarettes for criminal gang

But a judge described Norman Leslie Kay’s initial explanation for the presence of 2.1m counterfeit cigarettes in a lock-up facility rented in his name as, “clearly nonsense.”

Judge Tim Gittins said that if his calculations were correct, the defendant would have had to have smoked 100 cigarettes a day until he was aged 100 had the bootleg Marlboro and Richmond products been purely for his own use.

Newcastle Crown Court was told the storage unit in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, was among the locations across the North East targeted in a series of raids as part of an operation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) targeting the illegal supply of non-UK duty tobacco products, in November 2019.

Lee Fish, prosecuting, said the Birtley warehouse, rented in Kay’s name since January 2019, was visited by Customs officers on Thursday November 7, that year.

They found it was used for the storage of sleeves containing 2,110,000 non-UK duty paid cigarettes, all purporting to be Marlboro Gold or Richmond brands, but which were counterfeit.

The total duty evaded on the recovered products was put at £629,254.

Mr Fish said Kay had the key fob for the unit and it had been used 30 times between April and the date of the raid, in November 2019.

While most of the recovered illicit cigarettes were discovered in the storage facility, a small amount were also found in a search of the defendant’s home, in Washington.

When interviewed, Kay made the claim all the seized products were for his own consumption, but when further questioned he denied being part of an organised crime group, and then made no further comment.

But Mr Fish said it was the prosecution’s case that Kay was acting as, “the custodian”, or "warehouseman" for the bootleg tobacco on behalf of an organised crime group.

The 39-year-old defendant, of Collingwood Court, admitted a charge of knowingly being concerned in the keeping of cigarettes with intent to defraud the payable duty thereon.

His past criminal record was said to have included an offence of benefit fraud, in 2004, but there were also previous convictions for violence, some of a domestic nature.

Claire Anderson, in mitigation, told the court that in time, the defendant duly “held his hands up” to being responsible for the container and its contents.

But she added: “Clearly, he was acting under the direction of others.”

Miss Anderson said he has since conceded it was, “a stupid thing to do” and that he was, “easily led.”

Imposing a 30-month prison sentence, Judge Gittins described the illegal operation Kay played a part in as being, “on a substantial scale”.

He described the defendant’s initial claim over storing the cigarettes for his own use as, “clearly nonsense”.

The judge also ordered forfeiture and destruction of all the tobacco products seized in the raid.

Kay must also pay a statutory court surcharge of £181 upon his release from the custodial element of the sentence.

Speaking after the hearing, an HMRC spokesperson said: “Cheap cigarettes come at a cost as they often fund other organised crime and illegal activity that causes real harm to our communities.

Read more court stories from The Northern Echo, by clicking here

Tobacco smuggling gang flooded the region with illicit cigarettes

UK’s largest illegal tobacco factory was in Crook, County Durham

Illicit tobacco sales formed main trade at Blackhall store, court told

Stay informed and up to date with a digital subscription to The Northern Echo. Only £5 for 5 months. For  further details click here

“Smugglers don't care who they sell to, including children.”

The spokesperson added: “We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to report it online.”

Alternatively, the HMRC fraud hotline can be used, by ringing (0800) 788887.