Tobacco smugglers jailed

Two men who tried to smuggle eight tonnes of tobacco into Kent through the Channel Tunnel have been jailed.

Graham Chadwick, 46, and Christopher Walton, 55, hid the tobacco in the back of their lorries among horse and plant feed in an attempt to evade almost £1m in tax.

The pair were caught by British customs checks at the UK Control Zone in France on 5 March and 26 March.

Chadwick, of Franklin Road, Droylsden, near Manchester, and Walton, of Avebury Place, Cramlington, Northumberland, were sentenced to almost four years and two years respectively at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday.

Serious damage

They were found guilty at the same court in April of importing over eight tonnes of processed tobacco and the evasion of £850,600 tax.

A third defendant was found not guilty.

Chadwick was arrested on 27 March last year, the court heard.

A search of his home and business addresses showed two importations of tobacco on 5 March and 20 March similar to those already discovered by customs officers.

Customs spokesman Nigel Knott said after the sentencing: "The revenue loss would have been just under £1m, money that could benefit the community rather than line the pockets of criminals.

"Such large quantities of tobacco would have done serious damage to the legitimate and honest traders in the areas."