By Jennifer Hyland,Mike McQuaid

Copyright dailyrecord

A man caught with more than two million illegal cigarettes in his garage has been jailed for 18 months. Robert Lesniowski, 48, admitted being involved in an attempt to defraud HMRC of £874,000 in duty. Sheriff Paul Haran told him the potential lost tax revenue was “significant” and a prison sentence was necessary. Airdrie Sheriff Court heard customs officers raided Lesniowski’s home in the town’s Deedes Street on February 17, 2022. They found 2,425,134 cigarettes and 467kg of hand-rolling tobacco. Lesniowski was originally charged with attempting to defraud HMRC of £1.2million in a scam -involving two other Airdrie addresses but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge. He claimed he was put under pressure by a group of men to store the goods in his lock-up. Defence lawyer Elke Maclean said his criminal record was “limited” and background reports assessed him as a low risk in relation to reoffending. Sheriff Haran told Lesniowski: “I accept at face value your position that you were coerced into this conduct to a degree. “Nonetheless, given the significant sum involved there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.”