Sock manufacturer Arif Patel was sentenced to 20 years, while co-accused Mohamed Jaffar Ali was also sentenced to 11 years in jail, although both have gone missing.

The pair were involved in one of the UK’s largest ever carousel tax frauds totalling more than £97m through VAT repayment claims on false exports of textiles and mobile phones.

They also imported and sold counterfeit clothes that would have been worth at least £50m, had they been genuine. The proceeds were used to buy property across Preston and London through offshore bank accounts.

In total, 26 members of this criminal empire have now been convicted and sentenced following six trials between 2011 and 2023, leading to jail terms totalling 147 years and seven months.