Fazle Masum, 42, a company director from Glasgow, has been banned from acting as a director for eight years after importing raw tobacco concealed in furniture without approval from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The ban, imposed at Glasgow Sheriff Court on June 8, came into effect on June 29.
Shipment Intercepted at Grangemouth
Border Force officers intercepted a container at Grangemouth in January 2022 that was addressed to Unique Enterprise Ltd, a company run by Masum. The shipment contained raw tobacco hidden inside furniture. Unique Enterprise Ltd did not hold the required HMRC approval to handle raw tobacco, a legal requirement in the UK since 2017.
Masum even applied to Border Force to have the seized tobacco returned to him. However, following an HMRC investigation, his company was issued a penalty of £152,980.
Company Liquidation and Unpaid Fine
The business subsequently went into liquidation, owing nearly £175,000, almost entirely the unpaid fine. Masum’s disqualification prevents him from managing, forming, or promoting a company without court permission.
Mike Smith, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Fazle Masum chose to import raw tobacco without the required approval and went to deliberate lengths to hide what he was doing. That is not conduct we expect from company directors. Director disqualification is one of the most important tools we have to protect the public. By securing this order, we are making sure Masum cannot put other companies, creditors or consumers at risk in the same way.”
Border Force Vigilance
Christina Brown, Head of Border Force North Region, commented: “Masum’s interception highlights Border Force’s vigilance against unlicensed tobacco and cigarette smuggling. Through intelligence led multi-agency operations we are seizing hundreds of millions of illegal cigarettes, disrupting organised crime and protecting legitimate businesses.”
Related Case: Counterfeit Goods Fraudster Jailed
In a separate case, Ian Jones, 65, from Paisley, was sentenced to three years at Hamilton Sheriff Court on June 24 after admitting 15 charges of selling counterfeit goods valued at £3.8 million. Jones sold fake designer clothes and bags from brands including Gucci, Prada, Stone Island, Dior, and Canada Goose at three industrial units across Glasgow and Lanarkshire between June 2021 and November 2022.
Trading Standards officers raided five rented Portacabins in Ibrox in June 2021, resulting in the largest recovery of counterfeit goods of its kind in the UK at the time. It took officers two days to collate the goods, which weighed 30 tonnes. Jones stored the items at units in College Milton Industrial Estate, East Kilbride, Righead Industrial Estate, Bellshill, and Glasgow. The goods were imported from Hong Kong, China, and Turkey, transported to Scotland from the East Midlands, and sold for cash via word of mouth.
