Cigarette smugglers who evaded millions in taxes and excise duty have been sentenced.

Mitcham man Christopher Edwards was jailed for one year for his involvement with an operation in which an estimated 78 million cigarettes were smuggled into Britain.

Wimbledon’s Clive Evans was given a suspended sentence for the same offence.

The two were arrested, along with father and son smuggling team Christopher and Jack Osborne, in a raid on a warehouse on May 3, 2008. All four were sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on June 12.

The court heard that on the day they were arrested, the Merton pair had driven to a lock-up in Leytonstone to buy illegally imported counterfeit cigarettes.

Officers discovered a carrier bag containing £79,980 in cash concealed under the passenger seat of their van when they swooped on the deal.

Some 2.1 million cigarettes, amounting to £430,000 of missed duty, were seized in the raid - but the police estimate the smuggling operation had led to a total of £18m in missed excise duty in just six months.

All four were charged with participation in a conspiracy to evade excise duty chargeable on tobacco products on July 22, 2008.

Edwards, 63, of Manor Road, pleaded guilty to the charge on January 16 and last week was sentenced to one year in prison.

Evans, 45, of Sawkins Close, pleaded guilty on May 12 and was given an eight month sentence suspended for two years.

Christopher Osborne, 49, and Jack Osborne, 23, both from Dukes Way in Bromley, were sentenced to four and a half years and one year respectively.

After the raid, the police had discovered more than £200,000 in cash in the family’s home.

On April 24 Stephanie Osborne, Christopher’s wife, was found guilty of two counts of money laundering at the same court.

Andrew Pavlinic, HMRC’s assistant director of criminal investigation, said: “These criminals have lived a lifestyle funded by the proceeds of crime and we will work closely with our prosecutors to confiscate illegally funded assets.”

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