Pensioner claims huge cigarette stash for personal use
25.06.09
An OAP caught trying to bring almost 4000 cigarettes and 10kgs of rolling tobacco into Scotland via Edinburgh Airport failed to convince a court that he smoked 100 cigarettes-a-day, equal to one every 10 minutes, the Evening News reports.
Retired engineer Robert Stevenson, from Grangemouth, was stopped by customs officers at Edinburgh Airport in January 2008 after returning from a 3 day trip to Malaga. The court heard the pensioner had made at least 4 trips to Spain over an 8 month period, with flights costing around £200.
Mr Stevenson said he had a chain-smoking habit and the cigarettes were for personal use. He denied he was importing them for ‘commercial purposes’. But a sheriff said he did not believe the 65-year-old had the money or the time to smoke 5 packets a day – equal to a cigarette every 10 minutes.
At a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Kenneth Maciver described the claims as ‘incredible. He ruled the goods should be forfeited.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book edinburgh airport hotel or edinburgh airport car park at the lowest price, click on these links to two great edinburgh airport car parking and edinburgh airport hotel price comparison pages.
