THREE Chester-le-Street men were among five gang members jailed for a total of 15 years for importing more than six million cigarettes into the UK black market.

The nine-month conspiracy involved hiding the cigarettes in containers supposed to be carrying olives and steel through Hull docks and ended up being distributed from Tyneside down to South Yorkshire.

At Hull Crown Court, Judge Peter Heppel accepted nine lorry loads - worth more than £4m in evaded duty - slipped through the Customs net before the gang were caught.

Five members of the gang pleaded guilty to a single charge of evading duty: Ian Wright, 31 of Conyers, Nettlesworth, Chester-le-Street, was jailed for six years; Lawrence Hood, 41, of Glenroy Gardens, Chester-le-Street, was jailed for three years nine months; Dennis Neal, 58, of Barnsley was jailed for five years; David Kelly, 32, of Glenmeads, Nettlesworth, Chester-le-Street, was jailed for three years, and three months; William Farrell, 57, of Newcastle, was jailed for two years.

Judge Heppel said: "This was a large scale professional operation. As with any conspiracy different people played different roles and there were people organising shipment, delivery and distribution. This was in my judgement a well-oiled machine."

The court heard that Ian Wright had organised the distribution of the product in the Newcastle area.