Easyjet cigarette smugglers must repay £130k

Two men who used an airline's staff discounted travel to smuggle cigarettes into the United Kingdom have been ordered to repay more than £130,000.

Easyjet employee Dennis Connolly, 43, arranged 131 trips for himself and five others.

The gang received various sentences after admitting offences including conspiracy to smuggle and tax evasion.

Connolly and his accomplice, Terrence Steele, have now been ordered to repay £21,543 and £109,297 respectively.

Manchester Crown Court heard the men hid cigarettes and tobacco worth £180,000 in evaded duty and taxes in their luggage.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the bulk of the profits were made by Connolly and Steele.

They were caught on two separate occasions last year at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport trying to get 49kg (108lb) of tobacco through customs, HMRC said.

The men were initially issued with confiscation orders totalling more than £450,000.

However, they were allowed to repay smaller amounts after their assets were assessed.

Connolly, of Southport, Merseyside, was ordered to repay the amount within three months, or 15 months would be added to the 21-month jail sentence he received in October.

Steele, of Liverpool, was ordered to repay his sum within three months, or serve two years in jail. He was previously sentenced to 12 months, suspended for two years.

A spokesman for HMRC said further amounts may be recoverable in the future.

The amount Connolly was ordered to repay covers the stolen tax and duty for him and four other gang members, who acted as couriers, the spokesman added.

Zoe Ellerbeck, HMRC's assistant director of criminal investigation, said: "Airline employees hold a position of trust and abusing this privilege is a serious matter.

"Connolly organised subsidised travel purely for smuggling purposes. There are no excuses for smuggling, whatever your status, and HMRC are determined to recover stolen taxes."