Dad-of-six claimed 30,000 cigarettes were for 'personal use' after ignoring duty-free signs at Manchester Airport
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA dad-of-six claimed 30,000 cigarettes were for 'personal use' after ignoring the duty free signs at Manchester Airport. Elvis Agbontaen, 43, was among a trio men from south London who had tried to smuggle over 100,000 cigarettes into the UK, but were all caught red-handed at various airports.
The three fathers - who have 12 children between them - pleaded guilty to the fraudulent evasion of duty in relation to tobacco products after being caught with suitcases packed with Nigerian cigarettes, totalling over 116,000 smokes - a total of £35,000 in tobacco duty which they tried to hide from the UK tax system, MyLondon reports. READ MORE The latest court news and headlines here. READ MORE Man denies his XL Bully dog was 'dangerously out of control' after teen injured Agbontaen was first clocked by airport staff when returning from Nigeria to Heathrow on February 16 2020.
Rather than declaring his load, the dad-of-six rolled his suitcase through the 'green channel', which is used by passengers who have nothing to declare.
When he was intercepted, duty officers found 36,000 non-UK cigarettes, worth over £10,000, Southwark Crown Court heard. He was released under investigation but less than a month later, on March 16, tried the same trick again, this time failing checks on his way to Manchester Airport from Nigeria via Amsterdam.
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