Tobacco smugglers caught by Rotherham depot staff

A TOBACCO-smuggling gang was exposed by damaged boxes at a Rotherham depot.

The three crooks conspired to import 376,920 cigarettes from Germany, evading £90,950 in taxes.

Their ringleader, Artur Szarubko (45) of Worksop, was jailed for 16 months after a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation.

His accomplices — Monika Pawlak (30) of Deepdale Road, Rotherham, and Marcin Zajac (42) of Worksop — were each ordered to do 120 hours of community service.

The gang was busted when staff at a Rotherham freight depot spotted the cigarettes in four boxes, through packaging which had been ripped.

The illicit cargo included 332,720 Winston Blue and 44,200 Winston Classic cigarettes, which were seized by HMRC officers.

An investigation found Szarubko responsible for placing orders and arranging importation, as his laptop contained thousands of emails suspected to be illegal orders.

Pawlak, Szarubko’s colleague at a food packing firm, was responsible for distributing the goods.

Investigators found a note hand-written by her, listing names and apparent quantities of illicit cigarettes.

After his arrest, Zajac said Szarubko had asked him to receive deliveries, which were left in his garden then collected by the mastermind.

He said he was told not to worry, when he questioned the contents of the parcels.

Szarubko claimed the packages were personal belongings from a friend in Poland, Zajac said.

Pawlak added that she thought they contained clothes from Germany.

All three admitted fraud at Nottingham Crown Court on September 3 and were sentenced there on September 21.

Eden Noblett, assistant director of the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, said: “The trio, thought their cigarette scam would go unnoticed, but they were wrong and are now paying the price.

“Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit tobacco market.

“This is theft from the taxpayer, denying public services of much needed money, as well as undermining legitimate traders.”

He added: “We urge anyone with information about this, or any other tax evasion, to contact HMRC online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”