A smuggler hid 5.7 million in cigarettes under frozen chips.

But Richard Curtis was foiled in evading more than £1.3 million in duty by concealing the contraband under the boxes of chips.

He skipped bail before his trial and was on the run but was convicted of smuggling through the port of Dover.

Earlier this week, lorry driver Curtis was jailed in his absence for a failed plot to smuggle the 5.7 million cigarettes in the UK.

Now, he is finally behind bars after being arrested at a Nottinghamshire pub on Tuesday evening following a public appeal to find him.

Curtis appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday before being sent to prison. He will reappear before the court on April 26 to be sentenced for bail offences.

His trial heard that the contraband was found hidden beneath the boxes of chips inside his lorry in November 2013.

Curtis, 57, Kings Wood Close, Bawtry, South Yorkshire, was found guilty of evading more than £1.3m in excise duty in January and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

Alan Tully, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: "I would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance in putting Richard Curtis where he belongs, behind bars instead of in front of one socialising in the pub.

"Honest members of the public won’t tolerate crooks who steal from the public purse. And they certainly won’t tolerate crooks who think they can cheat justice and brazenly walk the streets.

"Tobacco fraud is a highly organised global crime which costs the UK £2.4 billion a year in lost duty. I urge anyone with information on this type of fraud to contact the Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887."

The fraud was uncovered when Curtis’ lorry was stopped by the Border Force after arriving on a ferry from Calais at the Kent port on 18 November 2013.

Paperwork provided by Curtis gave the illusion he was carrying a cargo of chips and potato waffles, bound for a frozen food store in Warrington, Cheshire.

But during a search, officers discovered 5,729,900 cigarettes, on which duty of £1,308,321 had not been paid, hidden beneath boxes of frozen chips.

The smuggler told HMRC he had spent the weekend with an old girlfriend in Bruges, Belgium, before collecting the frozen food and travelling back to Dover via Calais.

Curtis said he was unaware the lorry contained illicit cigarettes.

A warrant was issued for the fraudster’s arrest after he failed to appear at a pre-trial hearing in November 2016.

Curtis was found guilty of the fraudulent evasion of excise duty in his absence following a four-day trial at Maidstone Crown Court on January 4.

He was sentenced that day.