Gang Guilty After Illegal Tobacco Factory Smashed

Source from:  gnn.gov.uk 03/20/2008

Four men have today been found guilty at Ipswich Crown Court for their parts in a massive illegal operation that would have netted hundreds of thousands of pounds from the sale of illegal hand rolling tobacco. Three received jail sentences totalling six years, the fourth will be sentenced on 14 April 2008. A fifth man had already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date. Raymond Blackburn (42) of Stanmore was jailed for three years, 50 year old Michael James from Hornchurch was sentenced to two years imprisonment and 48 year old Barry Chuter of Whetstone was jailed for 12 months. 44 year old Stephen Warr of Horsley who was convicted today and Eric Cuerton (50) who pleaded guilty will be sentenced at a later date(s). The case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority, which reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases in England and Wales. John Kaye HMRC's Head of Criminal Investigation (East) said: "This is an excellent result for all honest traders who have to compete against criminal gangs. The activity of these gangs undermines local retail businesses whose trade is damaged by those undercutting them through evading tax. Illegal tobacco products are especially dangerous as there is no regulation in the use of chemicals needed to manufacture the goods. They may contain even higher concentrations of harmful substances than their genuine counterparts. We are determined to pursue those who engage in this type of activity in order that they can be brought to justice and prosecuted by RCPO" The plot was foiled after a covert surveillance operation by officers from HM Revenue & Customs who caught the gang red handed on the 10 August 2006. Officers raided premises near Stevenage and disturbed four men wearing safety face masks, busy in a fully operational illegal tobacco factory. The factory was discreetly situated inside a rented outhouse on a farm at Todds Green just to the north west of the town. The criminal enterprise was manufacturing hand rolling tobacco for the black market, complete with counterfeit tobacco pouches and packaging. The court heard that officers recovered several large boxes of raw leaf tobacco which had been treated with chemicals in a bath tub. This tobacco had then been fed through an industrial tobacco cutting machine. The equipment was capable of processing two tonnes of raw tobacco an hour. There were piles of processed tobacco ready and waiting to be inserted into the fake tobacco pouches. Later on the same day officers went to a second address in Hornchurch, Essex, arriving at the same time as one member of the gang had just driven onto the driveway in a van full of boxes of freshly processed hand rolling tobacco. He was arrested at the private residence where officers seized packaging, weighing equipment and a quantity of the illegal tobacco in 50gm pouches ready for sale. His Honour Judge Mckittrick in sentencing described Raymond Blackburn as the general manager of the enterprise, equipping the unit and getting the organisation off the ground. He described Michael James' his role as separate, having used his home at the distribution end of the process. Barry Chuter was described as a labourer with his shirt off ready for action. The Judge then went on to commend the case officer. Notes for editors 1. A total of 4 tonnes of raw leaf tobacco was seized at the illegal factory. 521.9 kilos of processed hand rolling tobacco was seized, some from the factory and some from the back of the van at the Hornchurch address. In addition 43,000 empty counterfeit pouches were found in Hornchurch stored in the back of the garage. This amount of pouches would have made 2,150 packs of processed hand rolling tobacco. Officers also recovered 12 large empty boxes; the raw leaf tobacco that they had contained is estimated as 2,352 kgs. The total amount of unpaid duty on the tobacco is estimated as £452,000. 2. All the defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud duty payable on tobacco products imposed by the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979. 3. Arrested at the factory: * Raymond Blackburn, sentenced to 3 years, DOB 30/05/1965 of Stanmore, Middlesex. * Barry Chuter sentenced to 12 months, DOB 7/2/1960 of Whetstone, Middlesex. * Stephen Warr, will be sentenced on the 14 April 2008, DOB: 30/08/1963 of East Horsley, Sussex. * Eric Cuerton pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date. DOB 12/06/1957 of Grimsby. Arrested at his home address: * Michael James sentenced to 2 years in prison, (DOB: 08/04/1957) a market trader of Hornchurch, Essex. 4. The rented factory address: Unit 15, Shangri La Poultry Farm, Todds Green, Stevenage, Herts. 5. Regulations: By law hand rolling tobacco is liable to tobacco products duty. The applicable rate as at 10 August 2006 was £110.02 per kilogram. No premises is permitted to operate as a tobacco factory (manufacturing or processing raw leaf tobacco into a tobacco product e.g. hand rolling tobacco), or to store tobacco products unless registered to do so by HM Revenue & Customs National Registration Unit. Neither the factory at the farm nor the private residence at Hornchurch were registered. 6. The Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was created by Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK. For further information about RCPO, please contact their press office on 0207 865 5666. 7. Anyone with information relating to smuggled goods should contact HMRC's confidential hotline number on 0800 59 500 or email: customs.confidential@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk Enditem