1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
Judge throws out smuggling case
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Operator cleared of smuggling. Chris Tindall reports.
TWO MEN ON trial in connection with smuggling five million cigarettes in a trailer supposedly full of parsley have walked free after the case against them collapsed.
David Butler and Mark Rees, son of Peter Rees who owns Barry-based PM Rees & Sons, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court to answer charges of evading £632,000 in duty.
The court had been told that Butler was stopped at the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles in November 2001 as he returned to England. Butler gave evidence that he had watched his trailer being loaded with dried parsley. A search revealed no legitimate load whatsoever and Butler was arrested with Mark Rees, who was accused of attempting to avoid paying duty on the shipment.
Various false documents were also seized.
However, after hours of legal argument spread over three days,Judge Michael Nelligan entered not guilty verdicts in respect of the two men ruling that there was no case to answer.
He said the evidence was not strong enough for the two men to be convicted and it could "smack of guesswork" for the jury to oonvict. He explained:"By the time the lorry arrived at Customs there were the cigarettes.
"Someone had introduced them into the cargo space. You cannot be sure whether it was Butler who had done that. Rees was the manager. There was no evidence that he knew either that put upon the lorry were the cigarettes."