Mark Wood sentenced for trading illegal tobacco

HM Revenue and Customs

Mark Wood, 57, of Rochdale Road, Middleton, has been sentenced for evading more than £31,500 in taxes by trading in illegal tobacco.

Wood was jailed for 12 months suspended for 18 months, and issued with a curfew for six months, on Friday 29 September 2017 at Preston Crown Court.

He admitted evading £31,546.70 for his part in the fraud. He now faces a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover the stolen tax.

He was caught by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2014 during a surveillance operation, buying illegal cigarettes and tobacco to sell.

Wood was part of a £16.5 million excise duty fraud that centred on a criminal network based in Blackburn.

Detailed records kept by the gang leader, Iqbal Haji, of Blackburn, mention Wood buying illegal tobacco products to sell on a regular basis. Mobile phone evidence also connected the two fraudsters.

Sandra Smith, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Wood was a middleman for this illegal tobacco ring. He was a regular customer of Haji and fully involved in trading in smuggled goods that damage legitimate trade. Middlemen like Wood are essential to organised criminal gangs, allowing them to hide the scale of their illegal trade.

"We are determined to create a level playing field for local businesses by disrupting the illegal trade and punishing the fraudsters. We urge anyone with information about the blackmarket in smuggled cigarettes to contact us on 0800 788 887. Your call could help us dismantle another criminal network.”

This is the sixth customer of Haji’s to be sentenced. Three were jailed alongside Haji in May 2016; a fourth, John Bailey, of Middleton, Manchester, was jailed for 12 months in May 2017; and a fifth, Lee Foster, of Oswaldtwistle, was jailed for four years and nine months in June 2017.