Booze barons in jail for £50m scam (From Echo)

Booze barons in jail for £50m scam

8:00am Tuesday 14th February 2012 in Southend By Laura Smith

A CRIMINAL gang has been jailed for a £50million-a-year alcohol smuggling scam – one of the biggest-ever in the UK.

Kevin Burrage and Gary Clarke lived the life of luxury spending their ill-gotten gains on plush houses, flash cars, and foreign holidays.

The pair were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue by using a chain of alcohol warehouses as a front for their operation.

They were caught following a covert surveillance operation by HM Revenue & Customs, which led to a series of raids in November 2008.

They found the ringleader, Burrage, 49, had been living at an extensive house in Ravendale Way, Shoebury, with a swimming pool in the back garden.

A fleet of expensive cars lined the driveway, including a Range Rover and a Bentley. He also had an impressive villa in Portugal.

Burrage owned Prompstock, a bonded warehouse in Upminster, Essex, from which the alcohol would be diverted to locations across the UK.

His brother-in-law Clarke, 55, of Maplin Way North, Thorpe Bay, managed the warehouse.

Burrage was jailed for ten years and disqualified from being a company director for 12 years. Clarke was jailed for six years and nine months.

Sentencing them, Judge Michael O'Sullivan said: “All four of you were involved in a criminal enterprise to cheat the Revenue. Alcohol was diverted in the UK without paying duty or tax due to the Revenue.”

Martin Brown, HM Revenue & Customs’ assistant director of criminal investigation, said: “This gang was interested in nothing further than lining their own pockets at the expense of honest taxpayers.

“HMRC will not stand by and let criminals rip off the law-abiding public. We are committed to protecting public finances from attacks by organised crime, and the extra £917million invested in HMRC will help us step up this fight.

“Crooks like this should beware – HMRC will find you, and you will have your day in court.”

The gang had managed to abuse the bonded warehouse system, which allows licensed traders to import and export alcohol without paying taxes or duties. These must be paid later, when the drinks are delivered to the domestic market.

But instead of paying up, the gang would send alcohol to locations across the UK, while sending empty lorries back to France – claiming they were full of the duty-free booze.

Michael Turner, 52, an accomplice, of Rendezvous Street, Folkestone, Kent, owned Keytrades (Europe), which provided a seemingly legitimate cover for the operation. He was jailed for three years and two months.

Davinder Dhaliwal, 32, of Langdale Gardens, Dartford, would organise the delivery of alcohol for distribution. He was jailed for 16 months.

They had both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to cheating the public revenue and and fraudulent evasion of excise duty.

Confiscation proceedings to recoup some of the money are under way.