A car trader from Watford who helped mastermind a £1.3 million VAT fraud, involving prestige and luxury cars being shipped worldwide, and his accomplices were jailed today for a total of more than 14 years.

Brothers, Manoj Vyas, 55, from London and Paresh Vyas, 51, of Mayfair Court, Observer Drive, Watford, traded second-hand Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches worth up to £200,000 each.

They helped fellow dealer Sarju Popat, 48, from London, to fraudulently claim back thousands of pounds of tax on each sale between 2009 and 2011.

Paul Barton, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC, said: “This was a blatant attack on the tax system. Their only aim was to line their pockets at the expense of the taxpayer.

“These three took away more than a million pounds from vital public services through this fraud and we will aim to recoup the proceeds of their crime. Tax crime does not pay.”

Full report to follow.