A WOMAN has been cleared of involvement in a £1m cigarette smuggling scam - while 15 others await sentence.

Suzanne Robinson, 40, from Darlington, was found not guilty by a jury of conspiring to evade duty on tobacco after a retrial.

Fifteen other people have pleaded guilty, and will be sentenced at a later date at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard how tobacco was smuggled into the region over a year by a crime gang evading more than £1m in tax.

The network posted hundreds of parcels of tobacco from mainland Europe to the UK in the large-scale operation.

The packages - labelled as plant pots, fabrics, decorating, gardening and catering supplies - were sent from from hotels in Belgium and Holland to a “network of willing volunteers” in England, jurors heard.

Prosecutor Simon Clegg said the contraband was delivered to addresses in Darlington, North Yorkshire, County Durham, and Teesside to be collected and distributed on the black market.

The scam came to light when packages holding almost 2,000kg of tobacco were intercepted by the customs officers, who found 270 other parcels had been successfully delivered.

Participants are said to include three generations of a North Yorkshire family, with two brothers as principal organisers.

It was alleged Ms Robinson, of Thompson Street West, Darlington, was recruited by her former partner Paul Hooper, who is described as one of “main organisers”.

She told the court that she was innocent and had her home, accounts and identity used by gambler Hooper to further the smugglers’ aims, and had no idea he was involved in a criminal enterprise.

Her barrister Tony Davis said the case against her was “nonsense”, “just drips of paint” based on “very flimsy evidence indeed”.

He said to the jury: “She’s not the first person who’s fallen in love and trusted a partner. She had been so utterly deceived by a man who was doing this before he met her.

“He had a good run, didn’t he? He’ll be punished for it.

“The sort of devastation he’s made on innocent people like Suzanne Robinson is incalculable.”

Eight people admitted the conspiracy charge: Hopper, 53, of Westmoreland Street, Darlington; Daniel Keith Whitmore, 26, of Pensbury Street, Darlington; John Hodgson, 45, from Richmond, North Yorkshire; Paul Hodgson, 46, and Joshua Hodgson, 24, both from Colburn, Catterick Garrison; Peter Jackson, 59, from Richmond; Ashlea Kirk, 45, from Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire; and Russell William Blakeburn, 60, from Leicester.

Seven others pleaded guilty to fraudulent evasion of duty on hand-rolling tobacco: Ian Gregory, 60, of Bevanlee Road, South Bank, Middlesbrough; Pamela Violet Hall, 65, of Church Street, Shildon, County Durham; Trevor Seal, 44, of Front Street, Appleton Wiske, North Yorkshire; David John Hodgson, 68, from Catterick; Angela Marquiss, 38, and Joanne Haxell, 35, both from Richmond; and Deborah Bowie, 40, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire.