Pair tried to avoid nearly $4m tax by smuggling cigarettes in a fryer

<p>A couple have been jailed after smuggling around 2.5 million cigarettes into New Zealand in a metal fryer, attempting to evade $3.7 million in Customs fees.</p> <p>A 33-year-old woman, a Chinese national, was sentenced to one year and 10 months at Manukau District Court for defrauding Customs revenue and importing prohibited goods.</p> <p>Her 36-year-old Australian husband was sentenced to three years in prison on the same charges, as well as selling uncustomed goods.</p> <p>The cigarettes were imported by the man – who created false declarations, names and delivery addresses to get them sent across Auckland.