A SMUGGLER caught trying to evade duty on 31,000 cigarettes has escaped a jail sentence.

Blackburn magistrates heard Kasar Shazad was detained as he came through customs at Birmingham Airport with three suite cases which contained nothing but cigarettes.

The court was told the duty and VAT on the smokes would have been in excess of £10,000.

Shazad, 46, of East Park Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to fraudulently evading duty on the cigarettes.

He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay a £115 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said Shazad had flown out of Manchester Airport on June 15 and flew back to Birmingham two days later.

“He had with him three suitcases which contained no clothes or personal property, only cigarettes,” said Miss Allan.

Shazad admitted to investigators that he intended to sell the cigarettes to make a profit.

Ben Leech, defending, said the offence had been an attempt to make some money to pay creditors after his client had been involved in two failed businesses.

He said Shazad had now set up another business involving the importation of goods from Turkey.

"He has a pitch on a market in Manchester, the business is all set up and he is just waiting to get started," said Mr Leech.

Commenting after the case, a An HMRC spokesperson said: “People like Shazad deprive our public services of vital funding. This was a blatant attempt to smuggle cigarettes into the UK for profit. Shazad was not even travelling with clothes.

“HMRC works with partners to prosecute criminals who think they can breach our borders and gain an unfair advantage over legitimate, law-abiding cigarette sellers who are paying the tax they owe.

“We ask anyone with information about suspected cigarette or tobacco fraud to call our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”

Information about any type of tax fraud can also be reported to HMRC online at www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business.