A man was caught stashing huge bags of illicit tobacco and cigarettes down an embankment on a Scots motorway following a crash with a lorry.
Ayub Said, 41, was caught following an accident on the M74 near Abington in South Lanarkshire.
While emergency services raced to the scene, the factory worker climbed out of the driver’s-side window and carried laundry bags and cardboard boxes from his car and down the motorway embankment.
On arrival police carried out a search of the area and discovered the bags and boxes about five meters down the embankment.
Inside they found 99.5kg of tobacco and 35,000 cigarettes.
The incident happened on September 9, 2018 and the case was referred to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators after the goods were seized.
Said, from Coventry, refused to answer any questions when he was interviewed and was later charged with evasion of £32,396 Excise Duty.
He pleaded guilty to Excise Duty fraud at Lanark Sheriff Court last month.
Said was sentenced to a Community Payback Order of 260 hours of unpaid work yesterday (Wednesday), to be completed within 12 months as well as a Restriction of Liberty Order.
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