A judge has thrown out a request by a man found guilty of tax and duty evasion for the return of a van he used to distribute his illegal products. 

The case dates back to November 2017, when Raymond Camilleri, from Swieqi, was stopped by Customs officers in Cospicua following a tip-off that he was involved in the supply of contraband cigarettes. His Peugeot Partner van was searched and the officers found several boxes of contraband cigarettes. 

In a search at Camilleri's residence, the police and Customs officers found a stash of contraband cigarettes which were also confiscated.

Camilleri filed a court case complaining that his vehicle had been seized when it was not meant to, according to law. He said that according to a notice of seizure issued by Customs, officers had found 155 cigarette boxes in his vehicle and 3,2000 cartons at his home. 

However, he only had 105 cartons in his car which amounted to 10,000 fewer cigarettes than claimed by the Customs officers. 

He also argued that Customs had no right to seize the cigarettes found in his home, because these had been imported by friends as a gift and were thus not subject to excise duties.

He said that had proper calculations been carried out, the amount of excise duties claimed would have amounted to less than €4,000 which he could have settled without having to be taken to court. 

Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale, presiding over the First Hall of the Civil Court, noted that Camilleri was not contesting the fact that he was found in possession of thousands of cigarettes on which he had not paid duty and excise tax. He was attacking a notice of seizure which he claimed contained a clerical error. Camilleri had admitted in court that when he was stopped by Customs in Cospicua, he was driving to a garage to sell the cigarettes he had bought from a third party. 

The court ruled that Camilleri failed to substantiate his claims on the mistake in the number of contraband cigarettes found in his possession. 

It observed that the claimed discrepancy resulted from the fact that 50 of the 155 cartons seized in Cospicua were found just outside the van and not inside it as they were in the process of being taken into a garage. Moreover, the amount of excise duty evaded would still exceed €4,000 even if these 50 cartons were not taken into consideration, and the seizure of the van would still have been justified.

Mr Justice Depasquale rejected all the man’s arguments and request and confirmed the seizure of the vehicle and contraband cigarettes.