Glaswegian ringleader jailed after £1.5 million scam

Yuanjian Zhou, from Charles Street in Glasgow was sentenced to prison at Luton Crown Court on February 26, 2025.

 Yuanjian Zhou the ring leader of the scam (Image: HMRC)Zhou, along with Bryan Kim, and Faruque Hussein, smuggled raw tobacco into the UK, processed it into hand-rolling tobacco, and sold it in counterfeit packaging.

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The group smuggled and distributed 5.8 tonnes of illegal tobacco over a three-year period starting in March 2018.

Bryan Kim, and Faruque Hussein, were each sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Ruifang Zhang, the wife of Zhou, laundered the criminal cash, using it to pay the deposit on a house and monthly mortgage payments.

Ruifang Zhang, wife of the ring leader of the scame (Image: HMRC) She also used fake details to apply for the mortgage and was sentenced to two years and five months.

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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers searched residential properties and storage units across Luton, Leicester, and Nottingham, uncovering the tobacco haul, worth nearly £1.5 million in evaded duty.

Zhou, Kim, and Hussein were charged with cheating the public revenue.

Faruque Hussein (Image: HMRC) Bryan Kim (Image: HMRC) Zhang was charged with money laundering and mortgage fraud worth £270,000.

They all denied their roles in the scam but were convicted in December 2024 after a four-week trial at Luton Crown Court.

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Peter Vivian, operational lead, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: “The trade in illicit cigarettes and tobacco damages funding for essential public services and undermines legitimate traders including small, independent shops that serve local communities.

“We continue to work closely with our partners to relentlessly pursue the determined minority who refuse to play by the rules.

“We urge anyone with information about the smuggling, distribution, or sale of illicit tobacco to report it online.”