By ELEANOR MANN, JUNIOR NEWS REPORTER
A Belarussian lorry driver with a 'James Bond style' revolving number plate has been jailed for trying to smuggle a huge haul of cigarettes into the UK.
Andreu Silivaniuk, 34, attempted to sneak an estimated £2.7million worth of cigarettes into Britain, hidden inside Bentley car parts.
Silivaniuk was stopped by Border Force officials at Dover port in June last year with an official load of car part packages in his HGV lorry.
When they searched the vehicle, officers discovered 6,349,800 cigarettes, concealed in freight boxes stacked between the legitimate motor parts destined for Crewe-based vehicle manufacturer Bentley.
Alongside the cigarettes and evasive revolving number plate mechanism, designed to avoid detection, officers found 'suspect' documents usually held by Border Force as well as two phones and a damaged tablet.
The vehicle's tapograph - a device recording time, distance, and breaks - had also been damaged, the court heard.
The driver gave 'no comment' to interview upon his arrest and initially denied involvement in the criminal enterprise. Prosecutors later said he had a 'significant role' in the operation.
Silivaniuk was jailed for two years and seven months at Maidstone Crown Court on January 9, after admitting a charge of fraudulent evasion of duty.
The smuggler's lorry was fitted with revolving number plates similar to 007's car, in an attempt to avoid detection
Silivaniuk, 34, was jailed for two years and seven months after admitting a charge of fraudulent evasion of duty
Following Silivaniuk's sentencing last Friday, Kenny Dunk, Operational Lead in HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said: 'Illicit cigarettes undermine legitimate retailers, funds wider crime, and deprives our vital public services of around £1.8 billion a year.
'We will continue to work with partners to tackle the illicit trade and urge anyone with information about the smuggling, distribution or sale of illicit cigarettes to report it on GOV.UK.'
Rajesh Pabary, prosecuting, said according to KentOnline: 'He was a trusted member of the team, transporting a large number of cigarettes and driving a vehicle designed to avoid detection,' he said.
'This was a smuggling vehicle, or a vehicle adapted to be one.
'The purpose of a revolving number plate, the prosecution infer, is so it wouldn't be stopped if there was intelligence.'