A British fugitive who had plotted to smuggle 10 million cigarettes into his home country has been sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison after he was arrested in Thailand and returned to face trial.
British authorities said Paul Joyce, 41, of Consett, Durham County, England, fled to Thailand in 2008 just hours before he was due to go on trial with other members of a smuggling gang.
A joint operation between Thai police and British customs agents tracked Joyce to the Sea-Cret hotel in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province. He was arrested last April 22, "after more than six years on the run", according to a media release by the UK Revenue and Customs press office.
Paul Joyce: Serving two years, 11 months
Shortly after he fled Britain, the six men charged as Joyce's accomplices in the smuggling scheme were given prison sentences of two years apiece.
According to the UK authorities, Joyce was originally a milkman in his native Durham county. It is not clear how he turned to crime.
"Joyce thought he could dodge justice by running away to Thailand, leaving his accomplices to serve their time while he soaked up the sunshine, but now he's swapped the exotic beaches of Thailand for a prison cell", the media release quoted Cheryl Burr, assistant director of the customs' fraud investigation service.
She said smuggling costs the UK around £2.1 billion a year in lost taxes. Joyce and fellow smugglers were charged with excise duty evasion of £1.7 million, or about 92.4 million baht
Customs tracked Joyce initially through flight records, which showed he left Britain for Bangkok in December, 2008. After
UK authorities said Joyce and accomplices were "caught red-handed, on six occasions, with a total of 10 million non-duty paid cigarettes - passing off their illicit cargo on import paperwork as everything from clothing to dog food".
According to the media release, Joyce's assets including his home in Stocksfield, Northumberland, have been frozen and will be confiscated.