Wanted: South Yorkshire lorry driver Richard Curtis hid millions of illicit cigarettes behind frozen chips

Cigarettes found hidden inside the vehicle.

A lorry driver from South Yorkshire is being hunted by HM Revenue and Customs after he was caught trying to smuggle cigarettes into the UK.

Richard David Curtis skipped bail ahead of a trial in January but was found guilty in his absence of evading more than Â£1.3m in excise duty.

The court heard how he had been involved in a failed plot to smuggle 5.7 million illicit cigarettes into the country.

Curtis, of Kings Wood Close, Bawtry, had tried to hide the contraband behind boxes of frozen chips inside his HGV as it passed through the Port of Dover in November 2013.

The lorry which was stopped at the Port of Dover.

Following the trial, the 57-year-old was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

HMRC today appealed for information on the whereabouts of Curtis, who has links to Doncaster, the wider South Yorkshire area and Nottinghamshire.

Alan Tully, assistant director of its fraud investigation service, said: "Richard Curtis gambled with his liberty in a brazen bid to profit from smuggling illicit cigarettes into the UK. He lost, and now he must face up to his crime and come forward to begin his time behind bars.

“Tobacco fraud is a highly organised global crime which costs the UK Â£2.4 billion a year in lost duty. This is theft from the taxpayer and undermines legitimate traders who cannot compete with those who pedal illegal cigarettes."

Curtis tried to smuggle more than five million cigarettes into the UK.

The fraud was uncovered when Curtis’ lorry was stopped by Border Force after arriving on a ferry from Calais at the Kent port on 18 November, 2013.

Paperwork provided by Curtis gave the illusion he was carrying a cargo of chips and potato waffles, bound for a frozen food store in Warrington, Cheshire.

But during a search, officers discovered 5,729,900 cigarettes - on which duty of Â£1,308,321 had not been paid - hidden beneath boxes of frozen chips.

The smuggler told HMRC he had spent the weekend with an old girlfriend in Bruges, Belgium, before collecting the frozen food and travelling back to Dover via Calais.

Richard David Curtis is wanted by HM Revenue and Customs.

Curtis said he was unaware the lorry contained illicit cigarettes.

A warrant was issued for the fraudster’s arrest after he failed to appear at a pre-trial hearing in November 2016.

Phone the customs hotline on 0800 59 5000 with any information.