Customs and Excise case : CPS statement

03/04/2009

Lawyers at the Special Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have recently concluded a long-running review of evidence against a number of customs officers and staff and former customs officers and staff who were connected to a series of Customs and Excise prosecutions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) throughout.

The review has concluded that there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of a conviction against a number of individuals who were then employed by Customs and that, in respect of others, that there is sufficient evidence but it is not in the public interest to proceed to a prosecution.

After a painstaking review and advice from leading legal Counsel, the CPS has concluded that the public interest factors outweighed those indicating that a prosecution should take place for a number of reasons:

• the suspects were not senior figures in the organisation
• although serious, these are old offences and there would be a further substantial delay before any sentencing; in the circumstances any sentence would be unlikely to be significant
• significant actions were taken to reform and reorganise Customs prosecutions, as a result of which performance has improved
• the suspects did not receive any personal gain but were simply acting from loyalty to their employer
• There is little likelihood that the offences will be repeated