Two posed as customs officials in Brierley Hill warehouse theft plan
Two bogus Revenue and Customs officers tried to get their hands on goods from a warehouse where large quantities of alcohol and cigarettes were stored by pretending to be on official business, a court was told.
The smartly-dressed pair had warrant cards, property bags and cash seizure forms as well as a "bodyguard" wearing an ear piece and carrying a walkie talkie in an effort to trick their way into the industrial unit where the goods were kept, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Franco Molinari, aged 43, and 26-year-old Shiral Rodrigo arrived at the industrial unit in Brick Kiln Street, Brierley Hill in a BMW and told owner Kulvant Singh Gora they were checking if the correct duty had been paid on the goods, explained prosecutor Mr Mohammed Hafeez.
The lawyer said they introduced themselves as Customs officers and claimed that Matuesz Zatal, 21, who arrived with them, was a "security officer".
Mr Gora, who supplies a chain of off licences in the area, was suspicious because the warrant cards did not have photographs on them, the court heard.
Mr Gora then phoned his daughter and spoke in Punjabi to tell her to call the police. The fake customs men continued the scam when officers arrived insisting they were checking invoices and seizing items on which duty had not been paid, the court was told. Finally Molinari confessed to one of the policemen that he was not a real customs officer and the trio were arrested at the scene on September 25 last year.
Molinari from Bakersfield, Nottingham, Rodrigo of Ingelby, Stockton-onTees and Zatal who lives in Leicester all admitted attempting to steal excise goods of an unknown value belonging to Mr Gora. Molinari and Rodrigo also pleaded guilty to pretending to be Commissioners for Revenue and Customs. The trio were remanded on bail until February 25.
