Driver caught smuggling cigarettes bound for Leeds disguised as frozen chickens

A LORRY driver caught smuggling almost 10m illegal cigarettes disguised as frozen chickens into Hull has been jailed for four years.

Robert Januszewski, 48, tried to smuggle cigarettes worth more than £2.5 million in unpaid tax.

But the Polish driver was stopped by Border Force officers as he entered Hull from Europort in Rotterdam, Holland, last February.

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His paperwork said he was transporting a load of frozen chickens to an address in Leeds.

Boxes were found filled with 9,686,800 Richmond cigarettes.Boxes were found filled with 9,686,800 Richmond cigarettes.
Boxes were found filled with 9,686,800 Richmond cigarettes.

But when officers searched the refrigerated trailer, they found boxes filled with 9,686,800 Richmond cigarettes.

Januszewski claimed he did not know about the cigarettes, but was convicted of excise fraud at Grimsby Crown Court and sentenced to four years in prison.

HM Revenue and Customs described it as a “shocking attempt to flood the streets with millions of illegal cigarettes.”