A WOMAN accused of being part of a £1m-plus tobacco smuggling plot faces an uncertain wait to learn whether she will face a retrial, after the jury was discharged following a five-day trial.

Judge Shaun Morris discharged the panel at Teesside Crown Court after it failed to reach a verdict on whether Suzanne Robinson, of Thompson Street West, Darlington, had conspired to evade duty, following seven hours of deliberations.

The court heard prosecutors would decide whether to relaunch proceedings against the 40-year-old, who denies the offence, when eight others, who have pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of duty”, appeared before the court for sentencing, a date for which has yet to be set.

Miss Robinson had told the jury she had no idea her then boyfriend Paul Hooper was using her details to help run the scam and that she had been "an innocent dupe".

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

Other who have admitted conspiracy to evade duty are: Peter Jackson, 58, of The Unicorn, Newbiggen, Richmond; Daniel Keith Whitmore, 25, of Pensbury Street, Darlington; John Hodgson, 44, of The Green, Richmond; Paul Hodgson, 46, and Joshua Hodgson, 24, both of Forest Drive, Colburn, Catterick Garrison; Ashlea Kirk, 44, of The Potlands, Leeming Bar; and Russell William Blakeburn, 59, from Leicester.

The charge alleges they conspired to evade duty on the importation, storage and distribution of hand-rolling tobacco and cigarettes between July 2012 and August 2013.

The court had heard Miss Robinson deny "willingly and knowingly contributing to the organisation's aims".

Prosecutor Craig Hassell alleged her role was vital for the success of the cross-Channel operation.

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

Inquires with delivery companies showed at least another 270 similar parcels were 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.