Washington man found with two million fake cigarettes jailed

HMRC officers seized Richmond and Marlboro Gold cigarettes which were later found to be counterfeit

A man who looked after more than two million counterfeit cigarettes for an organised crime group has been jailed for two and a half years.

Norman Kay was responsible for a storage unit where the cigarettes were held, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The HMRC said Kay and his associates evaded paying tax worth about £630,000.

Kay, 39, initially claimed the cigarettes were for personal use, but later admitted keeping goods with intent to defraud payable duty.

Judge Tim Gittins said Kay's personal use claim was "clearly nonsense" and would have meant Kay would have had to smoke more than 100 cigarettes a day for 100 years.

The court heard HMRC officers raided a unit at a storage warehouse in Birtley on 7 November 2019 where they found the non-UK duty paid cigarettes.

'Custodian'

Prosecutor Lee Fish there were some 2,110,000 Richmond and Marlboro Gold branded cigarettes, although they were all later found to be counterfeit.

The unit had been rented by Kay, of Gladstone Terrace, Washington, since January 2019 and CCTV showed him making multiple visits.

Officers found more illegal cigarettes in his home.

Norman Kay admitted one offence

When he was arrested, he told police all the cigarettes at both his home and in the unit were for his own use, but later admitted looking after them for a gang.

Mr Fish said Kay was the "custodian" of the cigarettes "on behalf of an organised crime group".

'Vital part'

The court heard he had previous convictions, including for benefit fraud for which he received a suspended sentence.

In mitigation, Claire Anderson said Kay "holds his hands up" to being responsible for the unit and said it was a "stupid thing" and he was "easily led".

She said the offence was very different from his usual criminality of "low-level robbery and domestic violence".

HMRC officers found dozens of boxes in a storage unit rented by Norman Kay

Ms Anderson said the father-of-two had been in prison for other matters, in which time he had been learning bricklaying with a view to getting a job and "moving on with his life" upon his release.

Judge Gittins said the cigarette haul had been "vast" and Kay, who the judge jailed for 30 months, had played a "vital part" in the criminal scheme.