Smuggler tried to sneak 14,000 cigarettes through airport in suitcase

27 May 2023 , 15:23

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Michael Legros was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for three years (Image: Merseyside Police)

A man has been jailed after he tried to bring 14,000 cigarettes back through customs on his way back from a holiday.

Michael Legros was returning from a trip to Bali with his partner Heidi Mullis and their young children on May 24 2020 when he was stopped by Border Force officers at Manchester Airport.

A court heard how Legros, 32, began aggressively pacing up and down with his fists clenched while officers searched his suitcases.

When they got to his bag, authorities discovered 14,000 cigarettes inside, causing Legros to fly into a rage cursing the officials, calling the Border Force officers "scruffy c****".

"You only earn £20,000 a year - just keep the cigarettes,” he continued.

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By law you cannot bring more than 200 cigarettes into the country (Getty Images/Glowimages RF)

Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, said Legros told one of the officers, who was Asian, that he looked like a "Rochdale paedo", the Liverpool Echo reports.

The officer, who was not named in court, was heard to be physically shaken by the racial abuse. The court heard the officer had been racially abused before in the job, but this "really shook him".

Legros was found guilty of the racially aggravated offence by a jury in Manchester on November 11.

At the sentencing hearing on Friday (May 26), Liverpool Crown Court heard how "tensions were frayed" and the defendant overreacted "out of frustration" after a 25-hour flight, according to Charles Lander, defending.

Mr Lander said his client regretted calling the officer a paedophile but it was "one phrase alone" - and although there was a lot of bad language there was no violence.

Liverpool Crown court (LIVERPOOL ECHO)

Judge Cummings told Legros, who was supported by his partner who wore NHS scrubs, that due to the totality of crime, only an immediate custodial sentence would be suitable. He took into account Legros' relevant previous offences and repeated criminality while on bail.

He told Legros, who wore a white shirt and floral tie, that he had also taken into account his young family, but they would lose their dad because of his actions. Judge Cummings notably branded the Manchester Airport incident as a "disgraceful offence".

Judge Cummings sentenced Legros to three years in prison. Legros will serve half the sentence before being allowed out on licence.

Patrick Edrich