A NORTH-EAST couple have been jailed for tobacco smuggling after they were stopped by customs officers at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel in France.
David Nary, 50, and Sarah Garbutt, 26, both of Church Lane, Eston, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal importation of goods.
Maidstone Crown Court heard they were stopped at Coquelles, France, last October.
Their caravan was searched and customs officers found 145kg of hand rolling tobacco and 650 cigarillos concealed under the floor. A further investigation resulted in the seizure of 69.5kg of tobacco, 400 cigarettes, 350 cigarillos and three litres of wine.
The couple admitted the goods were not for personal use.
Nary, a dock worker, was jailed for eight months and Garbutt for three months.
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