Harefield Gazette

Man ordered to pay back £50k over stolen alcohol

-

A WEST London builder who was jailed for evading duty on smuggled alcohol has been ordered to repay more than £50,000 – or face a further eight months behind bars.

Dilbagh Singh Dhillon was sentenced to two years and four months in prison last summer after HM Revenue and Customs investigat­ors found 46,318 litres of illegal alcohol stashed at an industrial unit in Hounslow.

The 40-year-old’s contraband haul was worth £62,347 in lost duty.

On Friday February 22, 40-year-old Dhillon was ordered to repay the majority of the duty he evaded – £53,937 – within three months.

He now faces selling his 50% share in his Hayes home.

Dhillon pleaded guilty to duty evasion at Southwark Crown Court and was sentenced on August 6 last year. He was handed the confiscati­on order last week.

Simon Kiefer, assistant director of the HMRC Fraud Investigat­ion Service, said: “Dhillon’s crimes put him behind bars and now he has to pay up or spend even more time in prison, and still have to pay the money back.

“Our actions don’t stop once someone is convicted. We will look to reclaim the stolen money, cash that should be funding vital public services in the UK.

“If you know of anyone who is committing tax fraud you can report them to HMRC online, or call our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”

HMRC officers seized the alcohol during a raid on September 15 2016.

Fraudster Dhillon stored the huge quantity of alcohol in an industrial unit owned by Sartaj Singh Gill, from High Wycombe, Buckingham­shire.

Investigat­ors found a diary with detailed recordings of alcohol orders and cash payments. Under questionin­g, Dhillon admitted owning the diary, but said that someone else had made the entries in the book.

However, handwritin­g analysis later proved it was his writing.

Gill lied to officers and tried to cover for Dhillon by saying another individual was the tenant of the unit where the alcohol was stored.

Investigat­ors unravelled his story and Gill eventually admitted to providing a false witness statement.

Dhillon, of Hayes End Drive, admitted evasion of excise duty under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and was sentenced to 28 months.

Gill, of Marlow Road, admitted perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to 13 months, suspended for 12 months.

Shortly after the pair were sentenced, Mr Kiefer said: “Dhillon was stealing from the taxpayer and undercutti­ng legitimate traders.

“Money that should have been going to vital public services was going into his pocket. Gill lied and tried to pervert the course of justice. They’ve now been found guilty and we can begin working on getting that money back.”

 ??  ?? Some of the alcohol seized by inspectors
Some of the alcohol seized by inspectors
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom