A TAXI driver caught with more than a tonne and a half of illicit tobacco in his van as he drove from Bournemouth to his Lincolnshire home has been been spared jail.

Alan Clater was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, suspended for 24 months, more than two years after he was stopped by Wiltshire Police on the M4 near Swindon.

Officers pulled the 62-year-old over before HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers conducted a search in the rear of the hire van and found boxes and bin liners containing 404kg of hand-rolling tobacco and 1.199 tonnes of raw tobacco, worth an estimated £260,000 in lost excise duty.

Colin Spinks, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said: “We will not stand by and let crooks rip off the law-abiding public, stealing money that should be being spent on vital public services.

"HMRC takes robust action to detect, disrupt and bring those who break the law before the courts.

“These offences have a devastating impact on honest retailers who have to compete with the black market and on the nation’s finances, with around £2 billion lost in excise revenue each year.

“Anyone who suspects cigarettes or tobacco is being illegally produced, smuggled or sold can help us by calling the Customs hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

Clater, of Hornsby Road in Grantham, told officers he was travelling back home but took a wrong turn westbound onto the M4. He was stopped on the M4 eastbound near Junction 15 during a four-day operation to crackdown on motorists, targeting excise fraud and motoring offences.

The defendant, who was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, denied being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the duty payable on tobacco and taking steps with a view to the evasion of duty payable on tobacco.

However, he was found guilty following a trial at Swindon Crown Court.