TWO men who tried to smuggle more than four million cigarettes into the country have been jailed for a total of seven years.
Gabriel McLaughlin, aged 51, of Salisbury Street, was jailed for 21 months for providing the warehouse in which to store the cigarettes.
Kevin Kearney, aged 54, of Crosby, was jailed for five years for the conspiracy.
The revenue due on the cigarettes, had they been successfully imported, was £815,514.
The cigarettes never made it to the UK. They were seized in 2006 in Belgium, where they had been sent to from Dubai.
They were bound for McLaughlin's address in Salisbury Street.
Kearney was also charged with a further conspiracy to smuggle about 10 million cigarettes from Dubai in 2004, based on material discovered on his computer.
The estimated revenue involved was a further £1.8m for this 2004 tobacco case.
More to follow.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here