A man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for attempting to smuggle more than four million cigarettes through the Port of Dover.

Alexander Kindred, 55, of Perth, Scotland, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard Kindred was intercepted by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers at the Inward Freight controls at Dover docks on the 26 April 2007.

He was driving a British registered vehicle and said the trailer had been loaded in Germany with boxes of biscuits which were to be delivered to the Ripley area.

HMRC officers examined the vehicle and its load and found hidden within the pallets of biscuit boxes a number of white unmarked boxes containing 4,229,200 cigarettes.

The revenue evaded on the tobacco was £580,000.

HMRC spokesperson Bob Gaiger said: “We will not hesitate to take action against those dealing in smuggled goods and evading duty.

“This sentence will serve as a deterrent to others. Selling smuggled tobacco products is not a harmless tax fiddle.

“It cheats the government of revenue which can be used to fund vital public services and jeopardises the trading of law-abiding tobacconists.”

Anyone who knows of anyone importing or dealing smuggled cigarettes is urged to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 595 000.