Seven Gambian Embassy workers have been jailed for a total of 33 years for illegally selling tobacco.
Yusupha Bojang, 54, from Loughton, and six others have been found guilty of illegally selling 26 tonnes of hand rolling tobacco and failing to account for nearly £4.8mil in lost revenue, following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.
The group, who all worked at the Gambian Diplomatic Mission in London, were found to have abused privileges by purchasing large quantities of tobacco tax-free from specialist duty free sales companies before selling it on the black market, without accounting for tax or duty.
Embassy rules allow diplomats to legitimately buy tobacco free from Excise Duty and VAT for personal use, but they are not allowed to sell it on.
It was found that the fraud had taken place for a number of years and the investigation focused on sales and purchases between 2009 and 2012.
Bojang was jailed yesterday for seven years after being found guilty of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue.
Gaston Sambou, 39, of Finchley, Georgina Gomez, 30, of Beckton, Ebrima John, 39, of Kensington, Veerahia Ramarajaha, 54, of Tooting, Audrey Leeward 49, of Croydon, and Hasaintu Noah, 60, of Colliers Wood were also jailed for the fraud.
Assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, Martin Brown, said: "Diplomats are allowed duty free goods for their personal use but the systems works on trust.
"These individuals abused that trust by selling vast amounts of hand rolling tobacco on the black market, thinking they were beyond the reach of the law – they were wrong."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel