A 67-year-old man from Lewisham has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being caught trying to smuggle more than 400,000 undeclared cigarettes into the UK via Heathrow Airport, in a desperate attempt to pay for his medical treatment.
Vi Van Long, of Childeric Road, was arrested by Border Force officers on January 14 after arriving from Hanoi, Vietnam, with a suitcase containing 12 large cling film-wrapped packages. Long initially claimed to officers that the packages contained tea and that he had nothing to declare. However, upon further inspection, officials discovered 401,140 cigarettes inside the packages.
The illicit haul would have cost the UK government £197,868 in unpaid duty fees.
Long later explained to the court that he had travelled to Vietnam for medical treatment costing £9,000 after being stuck on a lengthy NHS waiting list. Desperate for funds, he accepted an offer of £5,000 to smuggle the cigarettes into the UK.
“Someone introduced me to somebody who had a job where I could get £5,000,” Long told Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, August 2. “I have never committed any crime before; this was the first time.”
Recorder Jenni Dempster KC sentenced Long to 10 months in custody, suspended for 18 months. She issued a stern warning, saying, “That means you will not be sent to prison today, but here’s the warning. If in the next 18 months you commit any other offence, whether or not it’s the same type, you will be brought back to this court, and it’s likely this sentence will be brought into operation.”
The court also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the seized cigarettes.
This case highlights the lengths to which some individuals are willing to go to cover healthcare costs, as Long admitted he was forced to seek treatment abroad due to the long wait times on the NHS.
