An illicit tobacco trader from Peterborough, who evaded more than £168,000 in excise duty by repeatedly selling illegal tobacco, has been jailed.

Saade Jabar, who was connected to a local shop, was caught selling illicit tobacco across the East of England on a number of occasions in the past couple of years.

HM Revenue and Customs officers uncovered 510,000 of non-UK duty paid cigarettes and 24kg of hand-rolling tobacco in his car in July 2014. 

A further 150,000 illicit cigarettes and 20kg of tobacco was also found during other searches of his home, car and a local shop, between September 2014 and May 2015.

On one occasion Jabar, who had already been handed a two-year prison term in 2012 for similar offences, abandoned his car-load of illicit tobacco when approached by HMRC officers, losing a shoe and dropping cigarettes as he made his escape. He was later found and re-arrested.

Jabar, who was still on prison release licence at the time of the first offence in July 2014, pleaded guilty to seven counts of the fraudulent evasion of excise duty at Peterborough Crown Court.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail.