Blackburn Shopkeeper 'in £3.2 Million Tobacco Scam'

Source from:  lancashireeveningtelegraph.co.uk By David Watkinson 05/16/2008

A SHOPKEEPER has been accused of cheating the Government out of £3.2million in duty as part of a tobacco smuggling scam. Saiful Chowdhury, 39, used his position as a clothing company boss for SA Chowdhury to bring more than 30 tonnes of hand-rolled tobacco into the country, a jury has been told. Prosecutor Paul Valder claimed that Chowdhury regularly drove his van from his shop in Accrington Road, Blackburn, through Dover, to shops in Belgium. advertisementThere, he allegedly bought vast quantities of tobacco which he stashed underneath boxes of clothing - but never declared it to customs officials. Chowdhury, of Chester Close, Blackburn, denies five offences of evading duty, attempting to remove criminal property and transferring and attempting to transfer criminal property between November 2005 and December 2006. Canterbury Crown Court heard how in November 2005, a hired van, driven by Chowdhury, was stopped by customs officials on his return to Kent. Mr Valder said that Chowdhury handed over three receipts for clothing after telling officials he had been to Paris and was returning to Blackburn. But when the van was searched underneath the clothes, they found sealed boxes of Golden Virginia tobacco. When he was arrested and searched, £115.25 as well as 12,435 in Euros was found in his pockets, the court was told. Mr Valder said that when Chowdhury, who was later arrested and bailed, was interviewed he claimed that the tobacco was for someone else and said: "I'm just the courier." But despite being ordered to hand over his passport, he opened a bank account to get money to Belgium so others could continue the smuggling operation. In July 2006, Chowdhury was arrested again at Dover. This time the clothing boss said he was heading to France in a van and then showed officials a delivery note headed: "Chhiboo Exports" claiming he was making a once a week trip to Paris to buy clothes. Mr Valder said Chowdhury was searched and had £415 and 1,865 in Euros, which he claimed was for his one-day expenses for hotels and petrol. The van was X-rayed and in a box marked "Salim Fashion", rolled up inside a pair of tracksuit bottoms, was £59,000 in sterling and euros, the court was told. Mr Valder told the jury: "This case is about smuggling tobacco, which was purchased in bulk from warehouses in Belgium and smuggled into this country hidden in the backs of vans. "Excise duty was evaded when it was smuggled past customs control at Dover and it was then sold on at profit and the monies ploughed back to purchase more tobacco. And so it went on for a year." He said that officers "piecing together the various strands" couldn't be precise about how much excise was avoided but estimated it to be £3.2million. Mr Valder said: "We say that this defendant, and no doubt others, were involved at each stage. Chowdhury travelled out himself with the cash to buy the tobacco and then he smuggled it back." Chowdhury has denied all the offences, has claimed he was carrying on a legitimate clothing import business. He allegedly told officers that he had a shop in Accrington Road, importing clothes from Paris. Enditem