Thousands of cigarettes imported illegally into Offaly

A BULGARIAN man was acquiring tobacco illegally from his country of origin and selling it for profit from his home in Tullamore, Tullamore Circuit Court heard.

Lazar Mihaylov (57), Water Lane, Tullamore received concurrent two-year suspended sentences for offences relating to the unlawful keeping of specified tobacco products, including 50,000 cigarettes and 1.15kg of fine cut tobacco.

He was also guilty of keeping the products for sale and evading excise duty. There was another charge of money laundering involving €4,000 cash and Judge Sinead McMullan was also told the man Mr Mihaylov had a 151 Mercedes.

An officer with customs and excise told the court two parcels had been examined at an address in Dublin on March 17, 2024 and they had arrived from Sofia, Bulgaria for Mr Mihaylov at Water Lane in Tullamore. The sender's name was the same as that of the accused and the parcels contained €12,400 in untaxed cigarettes in total.

Three days later a controlled delivery took place to the man's address on Water Lane and he accepted the parcels and put them into a Mercedes vehicle which was registered to him at his address.

A warrant was obtained for searches and two packets of untaxed cigarettes were found in the vehicle.

A search of the man's home resulted in a find of 38,020 untaxed cigarettes and 1.15kg of fine cut tobacco.

Also found was €4,000 cash and two diaries which had to be translated into English from Bulgarian but had records of sales and payments for tobacco products.

A notebook had over 100 pages of diary entries relating to the sale of cigarettes.

The court heard Mr Mihaylov told the officers the parcels belonged to him and he was aware of the excise.

He said he would bring the parcels from Bulgaria and sometimes sell the products to friends. The man's phone had messages on it advertising the cigarettes for sale.

READ NEXT: Nearly 62,000 voters in Offaly but low turnout expected

A man with no previous convictions, he told the officers he had received €4,000 from his mother and also received money for cigarettes.

He had no previous convictions for revenue offences and lived in Tullamore with his wife and son.

Revenue said there were a total of 50,420 cigarettes involved in the offence committed on March 20 and they were valued at €41,065.

The potential loss to the State would be €32,800, the court was told. The officer's assessment was that Mr Mihaylov was acquiring cigarettes illegally and selling them and making a profit.

The diaries indicated the activity dated back to October 19, 2023 and was likened to a “tick list” with names of clients and amounts.

Examples given were €39 paid for five packets of cigarettes and on the man's phone people were requesting cigarettes, saying they could come in about five minutes for brands like Rothmans or Marlboro Gold.

Pictures of cigarettes were on the accused man's phone and an indication that the price had gone up because the price in Bulgaria had gone up.

Suzanne Dooner, BL, defending (instructed by Patrick Martin, solicitor) said Mr Mihaylov had arrived in Ireland in 2018 and worked in Carroll Cuisine.

He had been under financial pressure in 2022 because he suffered from a rare illness and started getting involved in the offending.

His medical condition, for which he is still being treated, results in narrowing of the blood vessels and his kidneys were affected.

He had been coughing up blood and while on holidays in Bulgaria in August this year he had to go to hospital and it seemed that a tumour on his lung was discovered.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: Dark evenings when clocks go back... but does it set you back too?

Ms Dooner said he had committed the offences because he was not in a position to provide for his family and had been asked to leave his accommodation.

While the offending was serious, a probation report prepared for the sentencing hearing indicated the accused would be suitable for probation supervision.

Ms Dooner asked Judge McMullan to give the man a period of supervision by the probation service instead of a custodial sentence.

Handing down her sentence two days after the hearing, the judge noted that Mr Mihaylov had two life threatening illnesses and he hoped to get a non custodial sentence because of the severity of those illnesses.

It appeared the tumour he had was malignant and while he accepted responsibility for his actions it appeared from the probation report that he had limited insight into his offending.

The maximum sentences for the various offences varied from four to 14 years and she had to take into account the fact that a lot of money was involved.

In mitigation, the man had pleaded guilty, had health problems, had no previous convictions and fully engaged with the probation service.

She imposed three concurrent two-year suspended sentences and one suspended 18-month sentence for the various offences.

The judge said that but for the man's grave health concerns she would not have suspended the sentences.

They remain suspended for two years provided he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years and attend all appointments with the probation service.

Judge McMullan ordered forfeiture of the cash and said she would leave a decision on what to do with the car to the judge who is designated for the Midlands Circuit, Judge Keenan Johnson.

“He's being given a chance here mainly because of his health,” remarked the judge.

The accused was granted legal aid after Ms Dooner said he was earning €252 on average each week and his earnings were limited because of his severe medical difficulties.