Lincolnshire lorry Driver jailed for smuggling counterfeit cigarettes

Timothy James Goodlad claimed he was unaware of what had been loaded into the vehicle

A lorry driver who tried to smuggle more than eight million counterfeit cigarettes into the UK has been jailed.

Timothy James Goodlad, 59, of Barnetby, in Lincolnshire, was convicted of evading more than £2.4m in excise duty.

He had claimed he was transporting pallets of laminate wood from Belgium to Scunthorpe when he was stopped by officials in 2019.

Goodlad was jailed for three years and eight months at a hearing at Winchester Crown Court on Tuesday.

Border Force officers stopped Goodlad at the Eurotunnel UK Control Zone in France on 28 November 2019.

He handed them documents claiming he had collected pallets of laminate wood from Belgium and was delivering them to a company in Scunthorpe.

When the officers instead found boxes of millions of counterfeit cigarettes, Goodlad claimed he was unaware of what had been loaded into the vehicle, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

However, data from the lorry's tracking system did not match Goodlad's account of his movements.

He was found guilty of fraudulent evasion of duty after a trial.

Gurminder Sanghera, legal manager for the CPS, said: "Evading taxation is not a victimless crime. By not paying excise duty, Goodlad has deprived the UK of crucial revenue which funds vital public services.

"Furthermore, the sale of counterfeit tobacco in the UK damages legitimate businesses and undermines public health."