Man jailed for cigarette smuggling plot

A WARRINGTON man has been jailed for 21 months for his part in an attempt to smuggle more than four million cigarettes through Liverpool docks.
Gabriel McLaughlin, 51, from Salisbury Street, Warrington pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle cigarettes.
Warrington Crown Court was told the revenue due on the cigarettes had they been successfully imported, would have been £815,514.
McLaughlin appeared in court with Kevin Kearney, 54, of Crosby, Liverpool who was described as a prolific and repetitive cigarette smuggler.
He was jailed for five years.
Judge David Hale said he Kearney was obviously “a man of considerable capability and clear talent who should have put his abilities to better use.”
He described McLaughlin as “a chancer who had made some bad decisions.
“Both men were driven by greed,” he added.
The court heard the men were arrested following in-depth investigations by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over a seven-year period.
Andrew Pavlinic, assistant director of investigation, HMRC said: “Cigarette smugglers cheat the country of vital revenue to fund vital public services like hospitals and schools. Smuggling also has a devastating impact on honest retailers forced to compete with the shadow economy.
“Cigarette smugglers don’t care about the damage they cause by undercutting honest retailers and tobacconists – all smugglers care about is profit.
“We will continue to work closely with other law enforcement agencies to root out these criminals.”
“Working with our colleagues in the UK Border Agency and Revenue and Prosecutions Office we will not hesitate to take action against those smuggling cigarettes into the country. These sentences will serve as a deterrent to others.”
The court heard the charges arose from action taken in 2006 when the Belgian Authorities seized more than four million mixed brand cigarettes from a freight container. The container had arrived in Antwerp from Dubai and was being transhipped to the port of Liverpool for onward delivery to an address in Salisbury Street, Warrington – the home and business address of McLaughlin.
The contents of the container were said to be “personal effects”.