A BUTCHER whose business was hit by the BSE crisis has been jailed after he smuggled drink and tobacco from the Continent.

Father-of-two Gary Goddard, of Cragg Street, Colne, evaded duty to the tune of £12,000 by making several trips over 17 months and selling on the goods locally.

He was arrested after police stopped him and three others in a hired van on the M1 and found 708 litres of beer, 54 litres of wine and 33 kilogrammes of hand rolling tobacco, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Sentencing Goddard to four months, Judge Charles Mahon said he had gone about the venture in a "determined way".

He said: "It goes way beyond the scope of the one single trip, as it were, which far too many foolish people make."

The Judge added Goddard had been frank about what he had done and held his hand up to evading tax on previous runs.

Goddard, of previous good character, admitted five counts of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of goods.

Norman Lonson, prosecuting for HM Customs and Excise, said Goddard was stopped by Northampton police in November 1996. During an interview, he admitted the goods in the van and at home were bought to re-sell and had no excise duty paid. He had paid for the trip, including the van time and ferry tickets and all the stuff in the van.

He had been selling drink and tobacco from previous trips over 12 months. Mark Stuart, defending, said Goddard had worked as a butcher for more than 20 years at Schofield's and the BSE scare had affected his earnings.

In February 1996, Goddard got a passport for the first time, got together £1,000 and went to Calais, bound for Belgium, but returned empty-handed after getting lost.

On the November trip, he probably brought back the most he ever had, as it was coming up to Christmas and he thought he would be able to make more money.

Goddard hoped he would not be prosecuted and would just be asked to hand over the duty. Mr Stuart said: "He has put his liberty at jeopardy.

"He did behave foolishly, there is no doubt about that, but it was some time ago.

After the case Fred Simons, manager of the Customs and Excise Blackburn Fraud Unit, which found a further 11 kilogrammes of tobacco at Goddard's home.

He said: "This was a significant case and one which highlights the results we can achieve working closely with colleagues and police forces up and down the country.

"We were able to disrupt Goddard's activities at a relatively early stage, but even so, the revenue involved over a short period is significant.

"Goddard was prepared to undermine legitimate traders in order to make a profit illegally and he now had to face the consequences.

"We are determined to protect honest traders from the effects of smuggling. The courts are now using their powers to the full and the penalties are severe."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.