Smuggling Couple Extradited      

A Darwen couple have been extradited back to the UK from Madrid for contempt of court and will have to serve up to five years more in prison for failing to satisfy a £1.8 million confiscation order issued by Preston Crown Court last year.

Stuart Clifford Murthwaite, 50, and his partner Catherine Anne Gillen, 47, previously of Beech Road, Darwen were amongst a number of people arrested in a joint operation by the Lancashire Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit and North West Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART) in 2005 following an investigation into the smuggling of wholesale amounts of tobacco products codenamed Operation Vicarage.

This investigation also brought to light further offences of money laundering and mortgage fraud which led to them being served with an order made by HHJ Brown restraining them from dealing in any of their assets in the UK or abroad.

Following a protracted financial investigation both here and in Spain, officers from the North West RART were able to identify property and also a series of bank accounts, into which the defendants had sought to hide assets. With the assistance of the Spanish National Police, officers were able to discover that the defendants had sold the apartment and purchased a bar restaurant business in Salobrena, Spain.

The sale of this apartment together with the opening and use of the bank accounts in Spain was seen as a deliberate and cynical attempt to avoid the consequences of their offending and hide their assets from the court. This conduct even included an attempt to hide some £90,000 in ill gotten gains in the account of one of their children held at the same bank.

On 16 December 2008, following an application by the Crown to Preston Crown Court, Murthwaite and Gillen were found in contempt of court for their repeated breaches of the restraint order placed upon them and were sentenced to eight months imprisonment each.
The couple did not attend the hearing and authorities began the process to return them to the jurisdiction to serve their sentences.

Following the contempt of court hearing the court also dealt with Murthwaite and Gillen for their outstanding Proceeds of Crime hearing.

Murthwaite's benefit from his offending was assessed by HHJ Brown as £991,967.36 and he was ordered to pay that amount in full within three months or face being returned to prison for a further five years.

Gillen's benefit was assessed by the judge as being £831,093.27 and she was ordered to pay that amount in full within three months or face a further four and a half years in custody.

Both have been arrested again this week by the Spanish Police and extradited back to the UK from Madrid on a European Arrest Warrant for contempt of court.  They have now been transported to prison to serve eight months for a contempt of court at Preston Crown during the Proceeds of Crime Hearing after submitted false information to the court regarding their assets.

They have also failed to satisfy the combined £1.8 million confiscation order and are now in default and are liable to serve their default sentences.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary SOCU said: "This is the second occasion that the Spanish Authorities have agreed to extradite Murthwaite and Gillen back to the UK for their part in the Operation Vicarage investigation."

"They have been given every opportunity to cooperate with the ongoing Proceeds of Crime investigation but chose to mislead the court and remain in Spain. As a result they have again suffered the embarrassment of being extradited from Spain and will now have to serve further prison sentences."

"This sends out a clear message that we will target any profit from criminality and when a confiscation hearing is made, it is enforced."

Inspector John Entwisle from RART said: "This case has been a textbook example of an investigation whereby the defendants have sought to frustrate the process and retain the benefit of their criminality."

"The co-operation between the NW RART and their Spanish colleagues from the National Police in Motril has been outstanding and this result is a testament to what can be achieved by persistence and international co-operation."

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