Cigarette smuggling gang sentenced

SIX men have been jailed following the Oldham break-up of one of Britain’s biggest cigarette smuggling conspiracies.

Kurdish and Polish gangs traded illegally imported tobacco and cigarettes wholesale from an Oldham mill, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Officers from HM Revenue and Customs seized more than 13 million cigarettes between 2010-2013 - worth about £3 million in evaded tax.

A fake electrical goods company was set up at Osborne Mills in Waddington Street, Oldham, as a front. The mill was chosen because it had a network of escape corridors in the basement.

Ari Rahimi (23), of Eden Street, Oldham, and Sirwan Hassan (36), of Glasgow, have been jailed for five years. Kamaran Khade (31), of Greenock was jailed for six years, and Ahmed Kherzi (23), who is on the run, received six years in his absence.

Walid Mohyi (34), of Bolton, Khalim Khan (31), of in Walsall, and Dominik Kamusinski (28), of Slough, have all been sentenced to eight months.