Driver jailed over cigarettes smuggling attempt
AN Ulster driver who tried to smuggle nearly six million budget cigarettes into Ireland disguised as lettuces has been jailed for three years.
Maidstone Crown Court heard on Tuesday how Martin Fitzpatrick, 28, was caught with a load of cigarettes and more than 630 kilos of rolling tobacco at docks in Dover, Kent.
Duty on the cigarettes would have cost 988,456 alone, and they could have fetched more than 2million on the black market, the court heard.
Fitzpatrick, 28, of Cowan Road, Newry, was stopped by customs officials in May last year.
Documents claimed he was taking six pallets from fruit and veg distributors Vega Mayor in northern Spain to Green Isle foods in Co Kildare.
Officers, who discovered 24 palates on Fitzpatrick's trailer, later found that the paperwork was a sham after both firms revealed it had no business links with the other.
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said: "The defendant was asked if he had seen the trailer being loaded. And he said 'yes'.
"At the rear of the trailer they found four palates of lettuces, but this was just the tip of the iceberg. Officers found many more palates with cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco."
Mr Polnay said the cigarettes included more than 600,000 Mayfair; 960,000 Palace; and millions more of the cut-price Respect brand.
"Mr Fitzpatrick said he knew nothing about the cigarettes and claimed he thought it was a load of lettuces", Mr Polnay said.
"The outgoing journey to Spain was legitimate, but the return journey was not."
He added that Fitzpatrick's tacograph – which records a lorry's speed and mileage – had been switched off.
In defence, Chris Hehir, said Fitzpatrick had merely been a driver and had nothing to do with organising the shipment.
He told the court: "In Martin Fitzpatrick you are here faced with a man who is effectively of good character."
Mr Hehir said married father-of-one Fitzpatrick had been apart from his family, who are based in Northern Ireland, for 18 months because of bail conditions which had kept him in England since his arrest.
Fitzpatrick's outward journey had been to take a load of animal skins from Devon to Barbastro in northern Spain.
Judge Polden told shaven-headed Fitzpatrick: "You are a man of 28 years of age.
"You are a family man with a partner and a good work record and you have been a lorry driver for 10 years."
Fitzpatrick admitted two counts of duty evasion when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court.
Judge Polden sentenced him to three years for each offence, to run concurrently.
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