Shafqat Majeed, formerly of Hove, was given 10 years in prison for spearheading the multimillion-pound VAT and excise fraud while living a life of luxury and driving flash cars.

Majeed and 10 other gang members have now been sentenced following two separate trials and sentencing hearings at Southwark Crown Court.

An investigation by HMRC revealed the gang used a sophisticated network of fictitious businesses and created a trail of false paperwork on an industrial scale to cover up the conspiracy.