A lorry driver caught smuggling 600,000 illicit cigarettes among pallets of floor panels has been jailed.

Henryk Wawrenczuk was stopped by Border Force officers at Dover Eastern Docks on January 15.

A search of the lorry’s trailer unit revealed the boxes of Jin Ling King Size Filters packaged in a similar way to the hardboard and hidden within the load.

Wawrenczuk was arrested and the illegal importation, worth £152,205 in evaded tobacco duty, was referred to HM Revenue and Customs for investigation.

Alan Tully, assistant director of fraud investigation for HMRC, said: “Wawrenczuk thought he’d get away with smuggling the cigarettes by using import documents for a load of hardboard flooring.

"He’s now paying the price for his greed.

“HMRC continues to work with Border Force to reduce the availability of illicit tobacco, which costs the UK around £2.4 billion a year, steals from communities and harms the livelihood of legitimate retailers.

“We have seized more than 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes in the last two years alone.”

Wawrenczuk, from the city of Ruda Slaska in Poland, pleaded guilty to evading excise duty at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

Sentencing him to 16 months in prison, Mr Recorder McDonagh told him: “This was an organised and professional importation.

“The cigarettes were being professionally concealed to hide them from border authorities.

“You are 62 years old, you should have known better.”

HMRC wants anyone with information about people suspected of smuggling, selling or storing illegal tobacco to call its hotline on 0800 788 887 or report it online here.