Two lorry drivers who smuggled cigarettes and tobacco into the UK have been jailed for a total of four years.

One was imprisoned years after his offence but time had been lost after he had skipped bail.

Arkadiusz Zuk corr, 43, brought in 1.6 million counterfeit Excellence cigarettes into the UK alongside a legitimate cargo of light fittings and roofing membrane.

The lorry he was driving was stopped by Border Force officers at Dover Eastern Docks on November 13, 2013.

Zuk was arrested after the load was examined and the cigarettes were found.

HE failed to attend a bail hearing in 2014 and an arrest warrant was issued.

He returned to the UK from Poland in November 2015, pleading not guilty to evading £359,000 in excise duty.

Zuk, 43, of Krotka Ulica, Nowogrod Bobrzanski , Poland, was found guilty on Monday, June 26, after a four-day trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

His Honour Judge Griffith-Jones QC jailed him for two and a half years that day, describing Zuk’s evidence of how he had tampered with the lorry’s tachograph as “palpable nonsense.”

In a separate operation Gintaras Vaitulevicius , 55, was caught smuggling 1.1 tonnes of Turner hand-rolling tobacco, packed in boxes hidden among a legitimate load of kitchen cabinets.

A total £245,000 in excise duty was evaded.

When stopped by the Border Force at Dover on May 15 this year Vaitulevicius told officers he was carrying one packet of cigarettes.

Vaitulevicius, 55, of of Ateities Gatve, Vilnius , Lithuania pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday, June 21.

He and was immediately jailed by His Honour Judge Macdonald QC for 18 months.

Both cases were investigated by HM Revenue and Customs.

Tim Clarke , HMRC assistant director, in the fraud investigation service said: “These criminals thought they’d get away with smuggling cigarettes and tobacco, but they were wrong and are paying the price for their greed.

“HMRC continues to work with Border Force at Dover and across the UK to disrupt smuggling operations and reduce the availability of illicit tobacco.

“It costs the UK around £2.4 billion a year and harms the livelihood of legitimate retailers.”

Anyone with information about smuggled cigarettes and tobacco should HMRC’s Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.