Shop assistant hid 1,400 cigarettes down his trousers

Image source, HMRC

Image caption, Some of the haul of cigarettes recovered during the swoop

A convenience store assistant who was found with non-duty paid cigarettes stuffed down his trousers has been jailed for almost a year.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Trading Standards officers visited the Kurdistan Shop on Westmuir Street, Glasgow, in 2015.

Kameran Kader, 42, was discovered with 1,400 non-duty paid cigarettes concealed in his jogging bottoms.

A further 137,160 non-duty paid cigarettes were found in popcorn boxes.

The total duty evaded was 拢41,259.62.

Joe Hendry, assistant director of HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said: "Criminals like Kader undercut legitimate retailers and deprive the UK of money needed to fund our public services.

"HMRC will continue to target the supply of illicit tobacco, which costs the UK around 拢2.5bn a year."

Kader, of Dunphail Drive, Glasgow, was charged in May 2015 but absconded for a preliminary hearing in March last year.

A warrant was issued and he was brought into custody on 7 February.

Last month Kader admitted the fraudulent evasion of Excise Duty and on Wednesday he was jailed for 346 days.