A GANG who claimed their haul of six million illegal cigarettes were frozen croissants and evaded £1.3 million in duty and taxes have been jailed for more than 12 years.

Colin Yeoman, David Hall and Bernard Levy were all sentenced after being arrested by customs officers in July 2014 while they were unloading Jin Ling cigarettes at an industrial unit in Waltham Abbey.

Brian Yeoman was later arrested and sentenced after a phone, which was thrown over a nearby fence by his brother, was discovered and linked him to the crime.

David Hall drove the van and met Colin Yeoman at a junction on the M25. He led them to the yard, which was owned by Levy’s son.

Hall was caught unloading the cigarettes when the officers raided the unit.

The court heard Levy was being paid a “couple of thousand” to help unload and store some of the haul in containers he rented out at the yard.

Colin Yeoman said he believed the cigarettes were frozen croissants to be delivered to Nuneaton, and an issue with the lorry had led him to Waltham Abbey.

Each gang member was found guilty of fraudulent evasion of excise duty.

Speaking to the Yeomans, Judge David Turner QC said: “You were lured into the temptation of some significant money and you succumbed to sheer greed. You took a chance and it backfired badly.”

The prosecution argued that the Yeomans set up a bogus collection order from Creed Food Services to deliver 30 pallets of “croissants” from Holland.

It was also claimed that the Yeomans carried out an “elaborate charade” and pretended they had emails sent by the food company.

The brothers did not give evidence, and later claimed they were told the haul was in fact perfume halfway through their journey.

Each gang member pleaded not guilty apart from David Hall.

Colin Yeoman, 54, of Ayres Drive in Peterborough, and Brian Yeoman, 51, of Hanbury in Peterborough, were both sentenced to four years in prison on April 7.

David Hall, 51, of Selborne Road, North London, was sentenced to two years and four months on April 7.

Bernard Levy, 64, of Willow Dene in Bushey, was given two years in prison after being found guilty of the same charge.