Two men from Dudley, West Midlands, and one from Burntwood, Staffordshire, could face further prison sentences if they fail to return their criminal profits from a major cigarette smuggling plot.

The trio were sentenced in 2007 for smuggling nearly half a million cigarettes and stealing over £80,000 from the taxpayer in lost revenue.

The men had tried to flee the scene of their crime to avoid arrest by HM Revenue & Customs officers but were caught and later sentenced for their part in the cigarette smuggling conspiracy.

At a successful confiscation hearing at Stafford Crown Court in January 2009, the three men were ordered by HHJ Mcevoy to repay a total of £85,700 in addition to £21,000 cash which had already been forfeited at magistrates court:

Paul Wheelwright of Dudley, West Midlands, was ordered to repay £47,533

Patrick O’Brien of Dudley, West Midlands, was ordered to repay £14,000

Christopher Burns of Burntwood, Staffordshire, was ordered to repay £24,167

Adrian Farley, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigations for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said:  “This is an excellent result and highlights our success to impact hard on those involved in tobacco smuggling. We will not hesitate to bring these cases before the courts, who are likely to hand out prison sentences, and will also take action to reclaim the profits of their crime for the public purse. This operation was part of are continuing efforts to stamp out the illegal trade - which costs the taxpayer nearly £3 billion a year in lost revenue that could be funding schools, hospitals and other important public services. It also proved the benefit of co-operation between Law Enforcement Agencies as we were assisted in identifying the Assets from the Crime by West Midlands Regional Asset Recovery Team“.

The trio were originally arrested on the 27 June 2006, Customs Officers were led to a car park at Morley Road in Burntwood, Staffordshire. They discovered a van containing 498,600 Sovereign Classic cigarettes. On challenging the men, Wainwright, Burns and O’Brien, the 3 men tried to run away but Customs Officers gave pursuit and apprehended them. Searches were made at the home addresses given by Wheelwright, Burns and O’Brien. At the home address of Burns £15,000 in cash was seized and a further £6,000 in cash was seized at the home address of Wainwright. The money was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, meaning that, together with the confiscation orders, a total of over £100,000 will have to be paid by the men.