Woman caught smuggling cigarettes and tobacco into UK at Gatwick Airport is sentenced

A woman who smuggled thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes and tobacco into the UK through a host of airports including Gatwick has been sentenced.

Lavinia Akyurt, 42, of Hartlepool at the time of the offences, now of Southsea, Hampshire was arrested in September last year at Gatwick Airport in connection with the offences.

An investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) found that between January 2015 and September 2016, she smuggled tobacco on four occasions and organised two smuggling attempts by family members.

In total, 59,400 cigarettes and 23.25 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco were smuggled through London Stansted, Durham Tees Valley, and Gatwick airports.