Consett shop owner jailed after housing illicit tobacco and booze worth nearly £1m

A shop owner who evaded a duty bill worth nearly £1m when he was caught with illicit cigarettes and booze is today behind bars. Jaafar Mousa Mohammad Jaafar used an industrial estate to house the massive haul of tobacco and alcohol. The stash included 3,254 litres of spirits, 6,409 litres of wine, 8,784 litres of beer, nearly three tonnes of tobacco and more than £1.5m cigarettes worth £943,623 in unpaid duty and VAT .The unit on Morgan Lonprell Yard, on Clockmill Road, in Dunston, Gateshead, was equipped for someone to live in with a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. And HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the set-up allowed the 64-year-old to act as a “round-the-clock caretaker” and distributor of the illicit goods. Jailing Jaafar for two years four months, Recorder Ian Harris said he was trusted and people relied on him in the “organised fraud”.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/consett-shop-owner-jailed-after-9724377