Filed under: Tax
HMRC
So how did they go about it, and how were they caught?
The brothers, both of Long Road in Scunthorpe, owned an off licence called Long Road Stores in the town. They planned to use it to sell an enormous amount of wine, beer and spirits, that were intended for export and on which no duty had been paid.
Caught
They first got into trouble when HMRC officers raided the shop, and seized large amounts of illicit alcohol with counterfeit labels. HMRC also received intelligence which allowed them to simultaneously raid an industrial unit used by the brothers in Flixborough.HMRC then set up a covert surveillance operation, which led officers to another nearby unit at Trentside Industrial Park. As HMRC was at the Trentside unit, the brothers arrived in a van and a lorry - containing 2,112 litres of Glen's vodka on which no duty had been paid. The brothers were arrested at the unit.
Jo Tyler, Assistant Director, Criminal investigation, HMRC said: "Our investigators found that the gang had crudely attempted to disguise their illegal activities by covering some of the genuine labels on the back of the bottles of vodka and whiskey with counterfeit ones."
Leeds Crown Court sentenced Inderjit to four years in prison and his brother Amandeep to 27 months.