Father and son’s cigarettes scam

Middleton man Curtis Southern: he and his father ran the smuggling ring.

A former boxer was told he was fighting out of his league after being exposed as the secret mastermind of an £11 million bootleg gang which smuggled 72 million counterfeit cigarettes and 68.5kg of tobacco.

Des Gargano, 48, of Hazelwood, Chadderton, had tried to stay in the shadows of a family-run gang which sold cheap cigarettes on the black market across the UK but was caught out by the comical bumbling of his son, who lives in Middleton.

Curtis Southern, 25, from Middleton — also an ex-boxer — blew the operation by twice being caught red-handed and then twice dropping personal details including his gym membership card and house keys as he did a runner.

Customs officers were able to trace Southern back to his house and then uncovered his father’s role in the scam.

Ex-bantamweight Gargano, who has reverted back to his real name Desmond Southern, was once ranked British number eight and fought the likes of Prince Nassem Hamed during a 122-bout career featuring 32 wins.

Also a professional fisherman, he retired in 1999 but thought he could rely on his son to carry on the family tradition at Oldham Boys’ Club. Ironically, in 2003 Gargano told how boxing kept lads from smoking in the street.

He is today starting a five-and-a-half year jail sentence for conspiracy to evade duty and dealing in illegal tobacco products, with his son jailed for three years.

Judge Bernard Lever told him: “You are a pathetic little crook fighting well out of your league.”

A customs spokesman said: “If it wasn’t for the seriousness and scale of the crimes involved, Curtis’s own self-incrimination could be seen as quite comical.”

A financial inquiry is now under way to reclaim the gang’s profits.

Also sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, yesterday for their roles were Terence Sergeant (50), from Liverpool, who was jailed for 33 months, David Whalley (26), from Middleton, jailed for 21 months; and Romano Shaw (25), from Middleton, jailed for 17 months.

Imran Khan (30), from Nelson, was jailed for 40 weeks, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours of community work; and Stuart Ratcliffe (46), from Connah’s Quay, Deeside, was sentenced to 36 weeks, suspended for two years, and must serve 200 hours community service. Ghulam Ahmed (40), from Trafford Park, Manchester, will be sentenced at a later date.