Derby smugglers locked up after raid uncovers THREE MILLION illegal cigarettes

Two Derby ringleaders of a smuggling gang have been locked up after they were caught with more than THREE MILLION illegal cigarettes.

Alan Rashid, 33, and Goran Mohamed Ahmed, 34, dodged almost £1.2 million in taxes before a raid by officers from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stopped their operation in its tracks.

Further raids uncovered more illegal goods at addresses linked to the pair – including a storage container in Ilkeston and a house in Derby’s Harvey Road.

Rashid and Ahmed were jailed for four years and six months each at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday.

The HMRC’s Stuart Taylor, assistant director of the fraud investigation service, said legitimate traders would have been hit as a result of the pair’s actions.

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/derby-smugglers-locked-up-after-249278