by Keith Hunt

Four men are facing sentence after being convicted of involvement in smuggling almost five million cigarettes into the country and evading £800,000 in duty.

Steven Clarke, 35, of Newtown, Birmingham, Gavin Turner, 43, of Fontwell, Arundel, West Sussex, and John Lester, 52, of Handsworth, Birmingham, denied being concerned in the evasion of duty, but were convicted.

Martin O’Brien, of Harborne, Birmingham, admitted the charge on the first day of the trial. Sean Mullins, 49, of Birmingham, was acquitted by direction of the judge.

Maidstone Crown Court heard O’Brien, 47, was driving a lorry found to have the huge illicit cargo hidden in the back.

Anthony Abell, prosecuting, said although O’Brien was the sole occupant of the truck, he was not acting alone.

"If you like, he was at the sharp end, sticking his head through the parapet," he told the jury.

The Tony Lester International Transport lorry arrived at Dover Docks in January 2010 by ferry from Dunkirk.

Customs officers found 104 empty meat crates in the lorry. Thirty-two other palettes contained 4,928,240 Gold Classic cigarettes.

"They would have been sold on the black market, had this succeeded," Mr Abell told the court. "The duty evaded is just over £800,000."

The evidence, he said, pointed to a distribution centre near Bruges, Belgium.

Judge Michael Carroll granted bail until sentence on February 7, but warned that prison sentences would be imposed.