A dad caught trying to smuggle more than 100,000 cigarettes through Manchester Airport attempted to do the same thing weeks later. Blenda Omar, 41, was branded 'foolish in the extreme' as he narrowly avoided a jail sentence for his crimes.
Omar had been taking orders from friends and family for cheap cigarettes which he'd bought in Iraq. He arrived at Manchester Airport in October 2018 and was stopped after passing through the green 'nothing to declare' channel, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Omar had three large shrink wrapped cases which contained 105,180 cigarettes, prosecutor Saul Brody said. He was not prosecuted and was instead handed a warning letter, with the cigarettes being seized.
