From STV.tv
Malcolm McGregor McGowan, from Edinburgh, has been on the run since last year.
The 60-year-old was involved in illegally importing more than 56,000 cigarettes between November 1999 and March 2000.
HM Revenue and Customs included him on its 20 most wanted list released this week, which included individuals who had dodged a total of £765m in tax.
McGowan’s illegal cigarette operation was worth more than £16m in today’s market, according to the authorities.
McGowan was convicted of smuggling a total of 24.3m cigarettes into the UK in 2001, but vanished after being granted bail and was sentenced to a four-year jail term in his absence.
Last year he was captured by Spanish authorities and held in Madrid ahead of extradition proceedings, but he was bailed and has since fled again.
HMRC believed the cigarette smuggler is still in Spain, and have appealed for anyone with information relating to McGowan’s whereabouts to contact its hotline on 0800 595 000.
