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Heavy penalties were imposed on a father and his son in the Supreme Court in Sydney today for cigarette smuggling offences.

The pair, from Sydney's western suburbs, were ordered by Justice Lawrence Newman to pay a total of $4,625,000.

The case had been brought to court by Customs which uncovered two separate large-scale smuggling attempts in April 2001.

Abdul Wahid Afiouny, was found to have smuggled 1,990,000 cigarettes and attempting to evade Customs duty on the cigarettes amounting to more than $404,000.

He and his son, Bilal Afiouny, were also found to have smuggled a further 3,450,000 cigarettes and attempting to evade Customs Duty on those cigarettes amounting to more than $698,000.

Both men were convicted of offences against Section 233 (1) (a) of the Customs Act of 1901.

Abdul Wahid Afiouny was ordered to pay two and half times the duty payable on the two quantities of smuggled cigarettes amounting to more than $2,757,000 plus costs of $80,000.

Bilal Afiouny was ordered to pay two and a half times the duty payable on the second quantity of smuggled cigarettes amounting to more than $1,747,000 plus costs of $40,000.

In addition, the cigarettes were forfeited and have been destroyed.

Customs Regional Director NSW, David Collins, said the heavy penalties indicated just how seriously the courts view attempts to bypass Customs controls and defraud the Australian Government.

"The case also demonstrates the outstanding work carried out by Customs investigators," Mr Collins said.

Source: Australian Customs :media release