Co Armagh man, accused of tax evasion on hundreds of thousands of cigarettes, is to face trial at Craigavon Crown Court
A Co Armagh man, accused of tax evasion on hundreds of thousands of cigarettes and almost 200kg of hand rolling tobacco, is to stand trial at Craigavon Crown Court.
Sidney David Herdman, aged 61, of Legacorry Road, Richhill appeared in the dock at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Wednesday for a Preliminary Enquiry.
-
-
He is charged with six counts of fraud by evading customs duty.
Charge 1 accuses the defendant of fraudulent evasion of duty on 699,700 cigarettes between January 1, 2022 and February 27, 2023.
Charge 2 accuses him of fraudulent evasion of duty on 196.6kg of hand rolling tobacco between the same dates.
Charge 3 accuses the defendant of fraudulent evasion of duty on 10,260 cigarettes on February 28, 2023.
Charge 4 accuses the defendant of fraudulent evasion of duty on 1.39kg of hand rolling tobacco also on February 28, 2023.
Charge 5 accuses the defendant of fraudulent evasion of duty on 1860 cigarettes on November 23, 2023.
Charge 6 accuses the defendant of fraudulent evasion of duty on 0.7kg of hand rolling tobacco on November 23, 2023.
When the charges were put to Herdman he said he understood the charges and declined to say anything or submit anything in writing in answer to the charges.
A Prosecutor submitted that based on the papers before the court there is a prima facie case to answer.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said there was a prima facie case and sent the defendant for trial to Craigavon Crown Court on March 5 this year, releasing Herdman on his own bail of £300.