Selfie footage of a smuggler boasting he had evaded border controls importing hundreds of kilos of illegal tobacco has landed him in prison.

The lorry driver was snared by customs officers who found the video after he filmed himself boasting about his exploits as he travelled through the Channel Tunnel.

Romanian trucker Ionut-Bogdan Milea was stopped by Border Force officers at the UK border at the Channel Tunnel terminal in France in September.

Milea, 30, this week admitted to evading excise duty worth £99,000 on two occasions.

Officers discovered 300kg of hand-rolling tobacco in the lorry's trailer unit.

They also found €1,950 and £300 cash in a wallet hidden in a fuse box under the dashboard.

"Milea thought his crimes wouldn’t be discovered, but he was found out by officers." HMRC assistant director Alan Tully

HMRC launched an investigation and analysed footage from his mobile phone showing him recording and bragging about importing 200kg of tobacco on a previous trip in August.

The footage showed him boasting he had made it past UK border controls at Coquelles.

He explains how the stash was hidden in a fridge and them filmed tobacco inside a box, suitcase and a carrier bag.

Alan Tully, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: "Milea thought his crimes wouldn’t be discovered, but he was found out by officers at UK controls and further incriminated by his own mobile phone footage.

"We continue to work with other enforcement agencies to reduce the availability of illicit tobacco, which costs the UK around £2.4 billion a year in stolen revenue."

Milea pleaded guilty and was jailed for a year at Maidstone Crown Court.

HMRC say they have seized more than 3.5 billion illegal cigarettes and more than 599 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco in the last two years leading to 848 prosecutions.

In the last two years alone, more than 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes and over 599 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized resulting in 848 prosecutions.

Mr Tully added: "Don’t let criminals profit by undermining legitimate retailers. Anyone with information about the smuggling or illegal sale of tobacco can report it by calling our 24-hour Hotline on 0800 59 5000."