Jail for persistent beer smuggler
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A LANCASHIRE truck driver caught four times with illegal loads of beer smuggled from France has been jailed for a £131,000 fraud.
In a case brought by HMRC, Manchester Crown Court was told that Simon O'Hare was stopped on four occasions in London, Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire by investigators as he was delivering the smuggled beer.
O'Hare would drive his empty LGV to France, returning with pallets of beer which, on paper, were destined for an Essex bonded warehouse. However, he would divert the deliveries to wholesalers around the country, evading UK excise
duty. On each trip, HMRC found evidence that he had attempted to alter registration numbers and markings on the vehicles to evade detection.
O'Hare, from Preston, pleaded guilty to four counts under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
He was jailed for eight months on each count, the sentences to run concurrently. Summing up
O'Hare lied about where the beer came from and the associated false paperwork each time he was caught, but continued to smuggle, despite warnings that he could be prosecuted.