Booze case goes to court
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• Eight men who are on trial for allegedly evading £9m worth of alcohol duty have been described in court as one of Britain's most prolific booze smuggling gangs, Maidstone Crown Court has been told by the prosecution that at one stage the gang was arranging for 40 van loads of alcohol a day to be brought over from Calais and sold to cash and carry stores.
Anthony Glass, prosecuting, said that Fida Rasool, Mohammed Tahir and Ghulan Abbas were the three main players: Tahir ran outlets in Calais while the other two organised the UK end of the operation.
The court heard that the gang defrauded the Treasury of nearly £9m, plus a further 13m in VAT which they charged on goods sold but never paid.
The prosecution decided not to proceed against the 20-30 drivers allegedly involved in the operation to allow it to concentrate on the "significant players'.
The court heard that the gang had several vans confiscated by Customs but was making so much money that this did not affect its activities.
The trial is expected to last for three months.