A 61-YEAR-OLD Knutsford man has been ordered to pay back £64,000 after he was jailed for tobacco smuggling.

Nicholas Todd, who lived a ‘rich lifestyle’ despite appearing to have ‘no legitimate source of income’ was ordered to pay back the money he stole from taxpayers following an in-depth financial investigation.

During the investigation by HMRC, multiple mobile phones and diaries were seized from Todd which detailed his extensive smuggling business.

On January 23, 2015 he was jailed for eight months at Manchester Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to two separate offences involving the fraudulent evasion of £50,713 UK excise duty and VAT.

Zoe Ellerbeck, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC, said: “For someone who travelled extensively and lived abroad, HMRC have shown that Todd had no legitimate source of income and the judge today accepted that this lifestyle was funded largely by tax evasion and crime.

“We are determined to recover stolen taxes for such crimes.

“Tobacco fraud costs honest taxpayers more than £2.1 billion a year, undercutting honest businesses, and drawing people into wider criminality.

“Anyone with information about illicit tobacco sales or smuggling should contact the Customs’ Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

Todd, who had relocated to Alicante in Spain, was caught smuggling tobacco on several occasions at Manchester airport and had attempted to bring cash back to the UK hidden in his suitcase.

Following his conviction, HMRC focused on his lifestyle which included expensive purchases including a property and a speed boat in Spain and cash held in multiple foreign bank accounts totalling £340,000.

HMRC were able to trace bank accounts in the UK, Spain and USA.

He was ordered to repay £64,000 within three months or face a further 12 months in jail if he does not pay back the stolen tax by the deadline issued by the court.