Cigarette fraudster ordered to pay £4.4m or face 5 years in jail
A 58 year old man was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £4.4 million at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday 13 July, following his conviction for the evasion of duty on more than 30 million smuggled cigarettes.
Laurence Spencer Myers from Whitefield, Manchester was ordered to pay £4.4 million by 13th January 2008 or face an additional 5 years in prison.
The court heard that in June 2003 Customs Officers stopped a lorry at King George’s Dock, Hull. The vehicle was carrying a load of what appeared to be rotten fruit, but the fruit was hiding a load of 1,099,200 cigarettes. Enquiries and a paper trail eventually led to Laurence Myers who was renting a lock-up storage unit in Manchester. Forensic analysis of documentation found at Myers’ house demonstrated that he had been involved in the trading of 32 million cigarettes smuggled into the UK and sold illegally over a nine month period on which duty of £3.8 million had been evaded.
In May 2006 Myers pleaded guilty to three charges relating to cigarette smuggling. He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. Subsequent to Myers being charged with the offences in Hull, he was again arrested in Manchester with 826,360 cigarettes and a quantity of tobacco on which duty of £118,000 had been evaded. On 12 January 2007 he was sentenced to a further 30 months imprisonment to run consecutively to his previous sentence.
The investigation into Myers’ financial affairs was referred to specialist officers at the North East Regional Asset Recovery Team. This identified that Myers, an undischarged bankrupt, had access to large sums of money that he had not informed the court about. He used this money to fund luxury items such as trips abroad, private school fees and season tickets to Manchester City.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Waite, head of the Regional Asset Recovery Team in the North East said:
“This judgement sends out a clear message to those considering engaging in serious crime for personal gain. You stand to lose not only your freedom but your assets. In this case the North Eastern Regional Asset Recovery Team was able to prove to the Crown Court that Myers was in fact a dishonest man who was unable to explain the source of his wealth. His Honour Judge Swanson has made a confiscation order for £4.4m. The onus now lies with Mr Myers to pay this money back to the community. In the event he fails to do so the Regional Asset Recovery Team & HM Court Services working together will trigger a further prison sentence of 5 years that Myers will have to serve in addition to the 4½ years he is currently serving.
The dedication and professionalism of the financial investigator has led to this excellent result in this case. People should not forget that conviction for a criminal offence is not the end of a criminal investigation but simply the first stage. The work of the financial investigator then ensures that justice is complete and the ill gotten gains are returned to the community.”
David Odd, HM Revenue and Customs, Head of Criminal Investigation in the North East said:
"This result represents the culmination of several year’s hard work by many HMRC officers and demonstrates an excellent example of collaborative work between HMRC and RART. We hope that this sends a stark message to those who engage in this sort of crime. The fact that the Judge has ordered Mr. Myers to pay £4.4m or face 5 years in jail bears testament to the quality of the investigative work that was undertaken."