A WOMAN accused of being part of a £1million-plus smuggling plot claims she was the "innocent dupe" of a former partner who was one of the main players in the conspiracy.

Suzanne Robinson's bank accounts and address in Darlington were used as part of a highly-organised plan to bring tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco into the UK, a court heard.

Miss Robinson, 40, is alleged to have made travel bookings to the continent and paid for courier services to deliver consignments of the contraband product.

She is the final defendant in a large prosecution after 15 others from North Yorkshire and County Durham as well as Wakefield and Leicester have pleaded guilty.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court was told yesterday (Weds, June 8) as the case was opened that Miss Robinson "willingly and knowingly contributed to the organisation's aims".

Prosecutor Craig Hassell said her role was vital for the success of the cross-Channel operation – which ran from July 2012 to August the following year.

During the 13-month plot, numerous parcels of hand-rolling tobacco were intercepted and seized by the United Kingdom Border Force, Mr Hassell told the jury.

The packages sent from hotels in Belgium and the Netherlands contained almost 2,000 kilos – on which import duty of more than £325,000 should have been paid.

They were sent to addresses in Darlington, Richmond, Catterick, Middlesbrough and Wakefield, and were labelled as containing plant pots, decorating supplies and fabric.

Inquires with delivery companies showed at least another 270 similar parcels were successfully sent between December 2012 and July 2013, said Mr Hassell.

"In most cases, by the time customs officers were able to attend the addresses, the contents of the parcels were long gone, but there were further seizures of tobacco within the UK, amounting in total to another 1,975 kilos, upon which over £336,000 of duty should have been paid," he added.

"Taking into account the recorded weight of these parcels [successfully delivered] HMRC were able to make the calculation that, in total, over £1million of tobacco duty had been evaded."

Miss Robinson, of Thompson Street West, denies conspiracy to evade duty and says she had no idea her then boyfriend Paul Hooper was using her details to help run the scam.

Hooper, 53, of Westmoreland Street, Darlington, is one of eight people who have admitted the charged of conspiracy to evade duty on the tobacco.

A further seven have pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of duty”, and two more will have charges against them dropped.