An organised crime gang who smuggled almost three million illicit cigarettes into the UK hidden in hollowed-out table tops have been jailed.

The six criminals evaded more than £657,000 in taxes.

Between January and April 2015, at least 1.74 million of the cigarettes were smuggled into the country by lorry and offloaded at a rented storage unit at New Road Industrial Estate, Sheerness.

Ringleader Dominik Mrzyglod, 37, and William Jurado, 68, were arrested by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators as they watched the men loading cigarettes into a white van at another rented industrial unit, in Quarryside Business Park, Redhill, Surrey in June 2014.

Officers seized more than one million Jin Ling and Blue Fest cigarettes, worth more than £240,000 in unpaid excise duty, plus 81 pouches of counterfeit ‘Golden Virginia’ hand-rolling tobacco.

The cigarettes, which had been smuggled by lorry from Poland hidden inside hollowed-out table tops, were seized from the storage facility and from the van.

Friad Mahmoud, 45, was arrested in Enfield, London in November 2014. He was identified as the person who had rented the van the men were loading in Surrey.

In April 2015, Marek Czwartkiewicz, 38, Michal Koc, 37, Ismail Mohamoud, 34, and Dominik Mrzyglod were arrested by HMRC officers after a second operation.

"It was abundantly clear that this was a sophisticated international scheme, which by nature must have evaded millions of pounds in duty" - Judge Peter Clarke QC

In March 2015 Ismail Mohamoud was stopped by Metropolitan Police officers in London. 512,800 Viceroy and Brendal cigarettes, worth more than £123,000 in excise duty, were found in the back of the silver van he was driving.

In April 2015 HMRC investigators seized more than 1.2 million Jin Ling, Em@il and other branded cigarettes at the Sheerness storage unit.

Again the cigarettes had been smuggled inside table tops. More than £292,000 in duty was evaded.

HMRC spokesman David Margree said: "This was a brazen and well-planned criminal operation aiming to flood the UK with illegal cigarettes smuggled inside table tops, which would have ripped off taxpayers and honest retailers.

"The gang members thought this scam would avoid detection, but we exposed their crimes and they are now paying the price."

Mahmoud, Jurado, Koc and Mohamoud were found guilty at Blackfrairs Crown Court after a three-week trial.

Jurado and Mahmoud were handed 12 months in prison each, suspended for two years, while Koc was jailed for 18 months and Mohamoud was jailed for 14 months.

Mrzyglod, the controller on the fraud, pleaded guilty to his crimes and was jailed for four years.

Czwartkiewicz pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Sheerness operation and was jailed for three-and-a-half years. A seventh man was acquitted.

Upon sentencing the men, His Honour Judge Peter Clarke QC, said: "It was abundantly clear that this was a sophisticated international scheme, which by nature must have evaded millions of pounds in duty."

Four of the men were jailed for a total of ten years and two months at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday. Two others received suspended prison sentences.

Investigators estimate around 120,000 cigarettes were smuggled inside each table top.