AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Gang accused of illegal imports

27th January 2000
Page 8
Page 8, 27th January 2000 — Gang accused of illegal imports
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Steve Wynn, Smuggling

• Blackburn international haulier Stuart Taylor. his transport manager and two of his drivers have denied smuggling £2.4m worth of cigarettes into the UK.

When Taylor, his transport manager Nicholas Harris and drivers Sean Bunkell and Darren Pollard appeared before Manchester Crown Court they pleaded not guilty to conspiring together and with Stephen Wynn and Francis Beckett to evade duty on cigarettes between October 1997 and March 1998, Prosecuting, Christopher Cornwall QC said that in March 1998 vehicles driven by Bunkell and Cornwall were stopped at Portsmouth and Customs officers found 6.4 million cigarettes hidden behind loads of oranges. He told the court that this was the last in a sequence of five contraband trips starting in October 1997 which brought nearly 24 million cigarettes into the UK.

Wynn, said by Cornwall to be the driving force behind the importation, and Beckett had both pleaded guilty. The prosecution said Wynn and Beckett, who ran a small parcels delivery service from Kirkby, agreed with Taylor and Harris to arrange for the cigarettes to be imported from Spain. Taylor and Harris instructed Bunkell and Pollard to pick up legitimate loads along with the contraband cigarettes.

When interviewed. Harris had agreed that Wynn and Beckett had approached Stuart Taylor International, which was in financial difficulties. Taylor told the court that he had no reason to be suspicious when he agreed to bring goods from Spain into the UK for Wynn; there was no suggestion that the two men intended to illegally import cigarettes.

He had a private arrangement with Wynn to be paid cash so the transactions did not go through the books, thus avoiding VAT. He had a similar arrangement with other customers, The payments went into the business account as he had cashflow problems. His financial problems started with the French strike in 1996, and the business owed £700.000.

Taylor admitted that he had paid Bunkell bonuses for "being flexible" over his driving hours. and that he had paid him 5p a litre for driving on red diesel south through France.

Asked if he encouraged drivers to ignore the hours rules. Taylor replied: "If you say so...I pay drivers for working hard." He agreed that he had been prepared to cheat Customs over VAT but said he would never have got involved in smuggling.

Taylor said he had lied during his interviews, and told the others to keep quiet. because his family had been threatened if he did not keep his mouth shut.

Taylor, of Land Eans Cottage. Balderstone: Nicholas Harris, of Charles Street. Rishton; and drivers Sean Bunkell, of Anchor Way, Lytham St Anne's, and Darren Pollard, of Farer Street, Nelson all pleaded not guilty.

The trial continues.


comments powered by Disqus