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Thief ‘wants to turn life round’


AN ALCOHOLIC whose life went on a downward spiral after the death of his grandmother, stole coffee worth almost £50 from a supermarket, a court heard. Douglas Frankham (32), of Hu-


bert Walter Drive, Maidstone, waited at the entrance of a Co-Op in Buckingham Avenue, Harriet- sham, before making off with six jars ofNescafe coffee. The court heard the defendant -


who has a lengthy criminal record - did not attempt to pay. His defence solicitor told Maid-


stoneMagistratesCourt Frankham didnotwant to enduplike hispar- ents, who both died from sub- stance abusewhen hewas young. Prosecuting, Paul Edwards said:


“Mr Frankham does have a con- siderable amount of dishonesty on his record. He was on a 12-month suspended sentence for theft and criminal damage.” Defending,RussellMorling said:


“Mr Frankhamhas had a drinking problemfor the last 12 to 13 years. He studied dance in America but fell into a downward spiral when his grandmother passed away when hewas 21. “He started drinking, going on


benders sometimes lasting weeks. The excessive amount of shoplift- ing on his recordhappenedmostly when hewas drunk. “Hewouldsteal items to sell and buy alcohol or steal the alcohol it-


self. He tells me this time he took the jars of coffee to just buy food. He has now, however, turned his life around.He is no longer binge- ing or drinking and has the full support of his family. He is a changed person.” Frankhamtoldthe court: “I’djust


like to say I would appreciate, not leniency because I’m not a child, but I have seen quite a lot of prison and I’mgoing into rehab onMon- day, I really don’t want to go into custody today. Iwant tomake this work onemillion per cent.” Mr Morling added: “It seems I


may lose a really good client.” Chairman of the bench, Linda


Campin said: “We have heard you are willing to change so we will give you a nine-month suspended sentence instead of four weeks of custody.” Frankhampleadedguilty to theft andwas given a £140 fine.


Cigaree gang jailed


A GANG of nine men, who flooded Maidstone and other towns in Kent withmillions of il- legal cigarettes and sold them in shops for just £3 a pack, have been jailed for a total of 16 years and ninemonths. The gang,


led by Harem


Kamishi (33), of TunbridgeWells, evaded £667,000 in duty and hid illicit cigarettes and tobacco in un- derground compartments. They were caught after an in-


vestigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who worked with Kent Police, Medway Trad- ing Standards and Kent Trading Standards to seize 2.9million cig- arettes and 481kg of tobacco be- tween 2009 and 2017. The gang supplied and distrib-


uted illegal cigarettes and tobacco to convenience shops in Maid- stone, Gravesend, Medway, Ramsgate,Dartford andMargate. BenMoore, of theHMRC, said:


“Thesemen have undermined le- gitimate hardworking shop own- erswho pay their taxes. “They have unashamedly con-


tributed to the £1.8 billion annual tax gap caused by the illegal trade in cigarettes and tobacco. “We are pleased the courts have


recognised the seriousness of this offending. “Tax fraud steals money from


our public services thatwe all rely on. Anyone with information about suspected tax fraud can re- port it toHMRConline or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”


Maidstone September 2019 5


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