Speeding car leads to illegal tobacco haul in Oldham
A speeding motorist unwittingly helped customs officials to catch a gang with a haul of illegal tobacco.
Araz Rasul was travelling in an uninsured car stopped by police on the M5 in Gloucestershire, along with 147.5 kg (325lb) of contraband tobacco. At the former Oldham home of the car's owner, customs found a further 112kg (247lb) of tobacco and cigarettes. Rasul and two other members of the gang have been jailed for between 14 and 20 months at Gloucester Crown Court. Further haul HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) began investigating when the car and tobacco were seized in May 2016. HMRC traced the car to Dana Kadir, 42, of Castle Rise, Runcorn, and discovered a further haul of tobacco and 68,300 cigarettes in two vans parked outside his former home in Oldham. Fingerprints of Soleman Hossein, 36, of Ilminster, Rochdale, were found inside both vans; while prints of Kheder Howkar Hasan, 31, from Gloucester, were discovered on the tobacco seized from the car stopped on the M5. The total lost duty to the public purse as a result of the tax fraud was £73,500, HMRC said. Pair jailed Kadir and Hossein were found guilty of fraudulently evading duty at Gloucester Crown Court in November 2018. They were each jailed for 14 months. Rasul, 38 of Southgate Street, Gloucester, was jailed for 12 months after admitting dealing goods with fraudulent intent. Hasan, 34, of Willows Drive, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to dealing goods with fraudulent intent and was sentenced to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.