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Bolton Gang Jailed over £41m Cigarettes Tax and Excise Duty Fraud
HMRC said the gang evaded about £41.6 million in duty after officers seized more than 2.5 million cigarettes and nearly £1 million in cash.
- Manchester Crown Court sentenced 11 men yesterday for smuggling 150 million cigarettes and evading £41,609,720 in excise duty, concluding a major investigation into the Bolton-based Organised Crime Group.
- HMRC launched a massive surveillance operation between August 2017 and April 2018, documenting 15 separate cigarette deliveries across Lancashire and Staffordshire where gang members conducted van swaps and exchanges.
- Five defendants received immediate jail sentences exceeding 10 years, while six others were handed 10-year suspended sentences; all 11 men pleaded guilty during hearings spanning 2023 to 2025.
- During the investigation, HMRC officers seized more than 2.5 million cigarettes and nearly £1 million in cash during planned vehicle stops across the region.
- HMRC remains focused on dismantling illegal tobacco networks, urging the public to report suspicious activity involving tobacco and alcohol sales via the GOV portal.
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lancashiretelegraph.co.ukReposted by 
theboltonnews.co.uk
theboltonnews.co.ukBolton smuggling gang jailed after huge surveillance operation
A Bolton-based gang has been sentenced after smuggling 150 million illegal cigarettes and evading £41 million in duty
·Blackburn, United Kingdom
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