From: The Northern Echo
By Gavin Engelbrecht
TWO former North-East police officers were part of a sophisticated criminal gang behind a cigarette smuggling operation that spanned the globe, a jury was told yesterday.
Gary Thompson, 43, and Anthony Lamb, 48, who previously served with Cleveland Police, used their knowledge of law enforcement and forensic techniques to avoid paying up to £11m in cigarette duty, a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court was told.
The gang cloned identities of innocent people and hijacked the names of legitimate companies to foil a shipping agency and the taxman.
A third member of the conspiracy, David Lister, 49, of Downham Market, Norfolk, was involved in transporting the illegal shipments from Felixstowe to the North-East and Yorkshire.
Craig Hassall, prosecuting, told the court: “We are dealing with an organised crime group which was involved in cigarette smuggling “In order to do that, stolen identities were used to register for VAT and to make false applications for the refund of tax between July 2007 and October 2009.”
Mr Hassall said the group arranged the importation of 21 large shipping containers from around the world, including ports in Greece, Singapore, Dubai and Turkey.
Seven of these, containing 60 million cigarettes were seized by HM Revenue and Customs officers.
The consignments were disguised as innocuous items, such as garden planters and pots, plastic pellets and paper.
Mr Hassall said the group used hijacked company names to set up premises in Stanley, Langley Park and Coundon, in County Durham, as well as in Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Yorkshire.
Phone and fax lines were installed, false stationary created and fictitious email addresses were set up.
Mr Hassall said false identities were developed so they could be used by the group to open bank accounts to deposit the ill-gotten gains.
He said there was no doubt there was a conspiracy to evade cigarette duty, as Thompson and Lister had both pleaded guilty to the charge.
Mr Lamb, of Ashborne Drive, Coxhoe, County Durham, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
But, Mr Hassall said, Mr Lamb had been frequently seen with other members of the conspiracy while under surveillance – and there was forensic evidence linking him to incriminating documents.
He said: “For him to say he was ignorant would be incredible.
It was obvious he was in a trusted position within the conspiracy.”
Thompson, of Burdon Walk, Castle Eden, Hartlepool and Lister will be sentenced at the conclusion of the trial.
The trial continues.
