Gang convicted of smuggling plot

Smuggled cigarettes and alcohol were sold across Britain

Five members of a gang which smuggled millions of pounds worth of alcohol and cigarettes into the UK have been found guilty after a five-month trial.

The "sophisticated" cross-Channel plot saw at least five containers from Belgium packed with contraband being waved through Ramsgate docks in Kent.

They were stashed in secret warehouses before being sold cheaply across Britain, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Two Kent customs men had earlier admitted their part in the conspiracy.

Paul Weaver, 35, of Phillips Road, Cheriton, and Steven Phillips, 34, of Montefiore Avenue, Ramsgate, were given a string of backhanders for clearing the shipments.

They both admitted one count of conspiring to evade duties between 1 January and 10 December, 2003.

Corrupt officers are extremely rare and HM Revenue and Customs will not tolerate corruption of any sort Investigating officer John Cooper

A string of co-ordinated swoops eventually brought the year-long enterprise to a halt, the court heard.

"Because alcohol and cigarettes can be purchased on the continent far more cheaply than in Britain, these smugglers were able to sell at rates which undercut normal prices," prosecuting barrister John Black had told the court.

"The Exchequer and general public were deprived of excise duty and VAT."

The jury convicted five other gang members on Tuesday after eight days of deliberation.

Mastermind and warehouse company director Brian Murray, 41, from Botany Road, Margate, and Luke Whitworth, 32, of Walmsley Road, Broadstairs, were convicted of conspiracy to evade duty.

Whitworth provided the corrupt customs men with details of vehicles and drivers and slipped them backhanders, the court had been told.

Sentencing adjourned

Driver Richard Pusey, 54, from Castle Street, Queenborough, Sheerness, who ferried one of the loads across the channel, was convicted of one count of smuggling but cleared of the conspiracy charge.

David Elvy, 48, of White House Drive, Sandwich, Kent, and Paul Farmer, 36, of Parsonage Farm, Theydon Bois, Essex, were also convicted of conspiracy to evade duty.

Sentencing of all the conspirators was adjourned for reports to a later date.

A number of other defendants, including a third customs officer accused of laundering and two transport company bosses, were cleared of any wrongdoing.

After the case, senior investigating officer John Cooper said the convictions came after three years of intense investigation.

"Corrupt officers are extremely rare and HM Revenue and Customs will not tolerate corruption of any sort," he said.

"Where there is evidence of criminal activity we always take prompt and appropriate action."