A Northamptonshire man is one of three people who have been jailed for trying to steal more than £4.7 million in an alcohol tax fraud.
Amandeep Singh, aged 32, of Warkton Way, Corby, his brother-in-law Peter Singh Kunoor, aged 36, and Gurjit Singh Kunoor, aged 33, both of Florence Road, Smethwick, in the West Midlands were caught after a lorry loaded with 2,000 litres of spirits, labelled for export from the UK, was seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers at an industrial estate in Lincolnshire.
Officers later seized thousands of litres of illicit alcohol, cash and records during searches of the brothers’ home in Smethwick and a storage unit in Bilston.
HMRC’s Bob Gaiger said: “These men attempted to disguise their illegal activities by destroying the export duty stamps and adding counterfeit labels. They then tried to sell the alcohol in the UK without paying any duty. They acted purely out of greed to line their own pockets, with no regard for the consequences to honest traders.
“HMRC is committed to protecting public finances from attacks by criminals and will not stand by and let these crooks rip off the law abiding public.”
Officers arrested Amandeep Singh after he drove a Mercedes lorry, registered to Peter Singh Kunoor, into an industrial unit in Lincolnshire in October 2010.
When the vehicle was searched more than 2,000 litres of vodka were found.
The bottles were labelled for export but the gang planned to sell the alcohol in the UK without paying any duty.
When HMRC officers searched the Kunoor home in Smethwick, they discovered £45,000 in cash hidden in carrier bags in a bedroom, along with over 60 litres of spirits.
Documents were also found relating to a storage unit in Bilston, where officers seized a further 6,761 litres of beer and 2,101 litres of wine, on which no duty had been paid.
All the alcohol was seized.
A confiscation hearing is listed for October 25 2013.