A lorry driver who smuggled almost £250,000 worth of tobacco into the UK hidden in a load of diaries has been jailed.

Aurelijus Repecka was caught with 1,152 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco when stopped at Dover Docks on September 8 this year.

Maidstone Crown Court heard it was hidden on five pallets among the cargo of Italian-made diaries destined for a London publishing house.

The 37-year-old Lithuanian admitted evading excise duty.

The non-duty paid ‘Turner’ brand tobacco was found alongside the 27 legitimate pallets of books.

Import documents had simply been overwritten to include the five additional pallets.

A total £241,655 in excise duty was evaded on the 1.1 tonnes of tobacco, and the case was referred to HM Revenue and Customs for criminal investigation.

Repecka pleaded guilty on Monday and was sentenced to 21 months in prison that day.
He is from the Lithuanian capital Villnius.

Tim Clarke , assistant director for fraud Investigation at HMRC, said after sentencing: “Repecka hoped his crime would be undetected by adding five pallets of tobacco, packaged in a similar way to the legitimate load of books.

“But his smuggling attempt was discovered and he’s now paying the price with a jail term.

“HMRC continues to work with other enforcement agencies to reduce the availability of illicit tobacco, which costs the UK around £2.4 billion a year."

Anyone with information about tobacco smuggling is asked to call the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.