Man caught with fake tobacco worth £176,000 in family home during police raid

A man landed his innocent wife in the dock with him as he admitted having £176,000 of counterfeit tobacco in their home.

Xueping He, 49, and his wife were in the flat in Glasgow’s Parkhead, which was raided by police on July 6 2023.

Officers discovered other paraphernalia in the property, such as bogus packaging for legit suppliers, Amber Leaf and Golden Virginia.

Xueping He pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to being knowingly concerned in harbouring, keeping, concealing and dealing rolling tobacco.

He’s wife had her not guilty plea accepted by the Crown.

The court heard that an investigation had been carried out about the supply of tobacco to the UK through a Glasgow-based Chinese organised crime group.

HMRC officers attended the Hes family property after a warrant was granted and found the pair inside.

Prosecutor Ross Canning said: “A total of 501.8 kilograms of hand rolling tobacco was recovered with counterfeit packaging for Amber Leaf and Golden Virginia.”

Mobile phones were also seized, which had pictures showing tobacco in the property and a video of someone weighing counterfeit packaging on scales.

The seized tobacco products were sent to UK manufacturers, who confirmed that the products were counterfeit.

Mr Canning said: “The total amount of duty avoided was £176,146.85.”

Neil Kilcoyne, defending, told the court that his client “did not fully appreciate the extent of the duty attributed to the tobacco.”

It was stated that his client was paid between £300 and £500 on a monthly basis.

Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month by Sheriff Shona Gilroy who granted Xueping He bail.