The prosecution of a cigarette smuggler by HM Revenue & Customs led to the Court of Appeal re-instating a confiscation order for £397,000 in October 2005.

The defendant had been arrested by Customs officers during the unloading of 2.3 million cigarettes from a container in a yard in Huddersfield. The cigarettes had been smuggled into the country concealed amongst a consignment of tyres.

The Court of Appeal dismissed defence arguments that the defendant’s benefit was restricted to the value of a cover load of tyres worth £10,000 and ordered him to pay £397,000 or face a further term of imprisonment.