THE final two members of a tobacco smuggling gang have been sentenced for their role in cheating the taxpayer out of more than £1m in excise duty.

Peter Jackson, 59, of no fixed abode, was imprisoned for 16 months at Teesside Crown Court this week while Pamela Hall, 65, of Church Street, Shildon was sentenced to ten months in prison, suspended for 12 months for their part in the ring.

They were the last of a 15-strong gang from across the region, including three generations of one family, who smuggled six tonnes of tobacco and cigarettes into the country from Belgium and Holland over a protracted period of time.

The majority of the gang, led by key players, John Hodgson, his brother Paul, and Paul Hooper, were sentenced at the same court at the beginning of December.

Speaking after the sentencing, Diane Donnelly, operational leader of Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “This was an organised and sustained attack on the tax system, devised to deprive the public purse of duty. Week in, week out, these crooks dedicated their time to smuggling huge quantities of illicit tobacco into the region. But they grew greedier and greedier, showing incredible naivety in their belief that they would go unnoticed.

“Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clamp down on the illicit tobacco market, which costs the taxpayer around £2 billion a year and hurts legitimate retailers.”

Those convicted of conspiracy to evade excise duty are: John Hodgson, 45, of no fixed abode; Paul Hodgson, 46, of Forest Drive, Catterick; Joshua Hodgson, 24, of Forest Drive, Catterick; David Hodgson, 68, of Oaktree Court, Catterick; Russell Blakeburn, 60, currently residing in Spain; Paul Stephen Hooper, 53, of Appleton Close, Darlington; Ian George Gregory, 60, of Bevanlee Road, Middlesbrough; and Daniel Keith Whitmore, 26, of Pensbury Street, Darlington.

Those convicted of the fraudulent evasion of excise duty included Pamela Hall and five others.