Brothers jailed for smuggling contraband shisha tobacco

 
Contraband: Tobacco seized by customs officers
Paul Cheston14 October 2013
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two brothers were jailed at the Old Bailey this afternoon after customs officers mounted their biggest ever investigation into contraband shisha tobacco.

They attempted to smuggle more than 5.8 tonnes into the country which would have cost the Government more than £500,000 in lost tax.

The two brothers, Mahfouz and Sayyeduz Chowdhury from Camden had disguised the tobacco from Dubai as Arabian incense.

The Customs operation started in April 2012, after UK Border Force officers at Tilbury docks discovered 2.2 tonnes of Shisha in a consignment from Dubai in 2,200 packages with false labels.

The consignment was destined for a shisha café in Kilburn operated by Sahara Lounge Ltd run by the Chowdhurys.

Custom seen soon discovered that the brothers had set up four previous importations from the United Arab Emirates over the previous six months, each one described as Arabian incense.

These shipments, weighing 3.6 tonnes, had been brought through Heathrow airport and the Port of Felixstowe.

When the Chowdhury brothers were arrested their mobile phones were found to  contain photographs of the tobacco being repackaged, and hundreds of text messages to others involved in its smuggling and distribution.

These included Sunit Vekaria, who had paid Mahfouz Chowdhury more than £10,000 to buy shisha tobacco in Dubai, and Asadur Rahman, a co-director of Sahar Lounge Ltd.

Rahman’s mobile revealed texts discussing a 300kg importation to and from Luthfur Rahman, Abdulah Al Mohammed Rafi and Mohbubur Rahman.

Outside court John Pointing, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC, said: “Shisha tobacco is legal in the UK, but only if the appropriate duty is paid.

"This investigation was the largest of its kind undertaken by HMRC, and shows the strength and determination of our teams of investigators to break up criminal gangs, stealing money from the UK taxpayer.

“HMRC is investing more time and resources than ever in tackling the threat posed to the UK economy by tobacco smuggling. We will not cease in our efforts to stamp out this trade.”

Mahfouz, 30, and Sayyeduz Chowdhury, 28, admitted conspiracy to evade excise duty on 5,892kg of tobacco. Mahfouz was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment, and Sayyeduz to two years.

Judge Gerald Gordon told them that their attempt to disguise the tobacco had been “quite sophisticated.”

“The Revenue must be protected – they are not fair game even for those in financial difficulties,” he said.

“The reality is that others, including traders struggling honestly to survive, would have to make up the difference from your non-payment.”.

Asadur Rahman, 28, Luthfur Rahman, 27,  Abdulah Al Mohammed Rafi, 32,and Mohbubur Rahman 32, were convicted of conspiracy to evade excise duty on 300kg of the tobacco and each was given a 12 weeks setnece suspended for two years and ordered to do 150 hours community service.

A further two men Adel Al-Khazraji of Wembley and Sunit Vekaria of Harrow, will be sentenced  next month.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in