Spirits wholesaler gets 10 years in jail for £16m alcohol fraud

A crime gang that smuggled huge amounts of illicit alcohol into the UK and sold via South Coast Wholesale have been jailed for a total of more than 34 years.

The gang spearheaded by Shafqat Majeed, also known as Chas, stole more than £16 million in taxes. Majeed, formerly of Hove, was given 10 years in prison.

The 52-year-old and ten other gang members used a sophisticated network of fictitious businesses and created a trail of false paperwork on an industrial scale to cover up the conspiracy.

“This was a highly sophisticated fraud which deprived £16m from our public services, NHS and emergency services, that so many of us depend on,” Zoe Ellerbeck, Operational Lead at Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said.

“Majeed and his associates committed serious crimes and now they have to face the life-changing consequences.”

Majeed lived a life of luxury, with a million-pound home and flash cars, while orchestrating the criminal operation where huge quantities of alcohol was smuggled into the UK and sold via South Coast Wholesale, which operated from two premises – Palace Drinks, in Shoreham-by-Sea, and Kaka Cash and Carry, in Manchester.

The gang set up and used a fake network of businesses and supply chains, supported by reams of paperwork detailing fictitious transactions.

The artificially created supply chain made it appear that the goods had been bought and sold through a series of companies before being sold onto the UK market by South Coast Wholesale, and resulted in the theft of more than £4.8 million in VAT and evasion of paying £11.9 million in excise duty.

While Majeed tried to distance himself from the fraud by naming gang members as company directors or using stolen identities, HMRC said their investigators were able to prove that he had control over the companies and their trading activities.

They have now been sentenced following two separate trials and sentencing hearings at Southwark Crown Court that concluded yesterday (28 October).

“The majority of individuals and businesses pay the tax that is due – however there remains a determined minority who refuse to play by the rules. We encourage anyone with information about tax crime to report it online, or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887,” Ellerbeck added.