Van driver sentenced over 840 illegal vodka bottles

Image source, HMRC

A van driver has been sentenced after he was caught with more than 840 illegal bottles of vodka.

Muhammad Ahmad, 28, was pulled over by police in Port Glasgow who noticed his van was listing heavily to one side.

Officers found boxes of Glen's vodka inside when they seized the vehicle. Further investigation by HMRC revealed the duty labels were fake.

Ahmad pled guilty to evasion of 拢9,001.37 in excise duty and was given community service.

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how investigators from HMRC found the bottles were from a consignment produced in the UK, which was supposed to go to the Netherlands.

Image source, HMRC

Image caption, Ahmad was caught with more than 840 bottles of Glen's vodka with fake duty labels

Ahmad, from Greenock, was pulled over on 18 June 2017. He was sentenced to 210 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a restriction of liberty order to ensure he is home between 19:00 and 07:00.

An HMRC spokesman said it was a "deliberate attempt to undercut legitimate traders".