Two men caught smuggling more than a tonne of tobacco from Europe have been jailed.

Bob Lee, 43, and Benjamin Brazil, 29, were caught unloading 1.3 tonnes of Turner Blue tobacco off a lorry in Rochester last October.

The tobacco was seized by HMRC officers who discovered the haul had evaded £262,000 worth of tobacco duty.

Lorry driver and ex-Special Forces soldier Steven Skender, 43, was also arrested at the scene.

The Croatian told officers he had parked up at the Luxembourg-German border for a break when a man offered him £1,000 to transport boxes of tobacco to the UK.

Approaching drivers with such an offer is known as 'window tapping'.

Skender said he had declined previous offers, but agreed to this offer as the money could go toward car repairs.

Brett Wilkinson, assistant director of HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service said: "These men thought they could make money smuggling and selling illicit tobacco while stealing from UK taxpayers. Tobacco fraudsters are costing the UK around £2.5billion a year in lost taxes and undermining legitimate, local businesses."

Lee and Brazil were found guilty of fraudulent evasion after a two week trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

Lee, of Church Hill, Boughton Monchelsea, was jailed for three and a half years, while Brazil of Glenbrook Grove, Sittingbourne was sentenced to two years in prison.

Skender admitted fraudulent evasion and is yet to be sentenced.

Mr Wilkinson added: "We are disrupting the distribution of illicit tobacco across the UK and I urge anyone who is offered cheap products to report it online or contact our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”