Energy drink scammer jailed after 12 years on run

A money launderer who masterminded an energy drink scam then went on the run for 12 years has finally been jailed.

Yasar Hussain fled the UK during his trial at Hull Crown Court in November 2012 and lived in Dubai under a false identity.

He had raked in more than £312,000 setting up a company to produce an energy drink styled on a famous battery brand, for which he did not have permission, West Yorkshire Police said.

The 43-year-old, originally from Bradford, was handed two consecutive six-month terms at Grimsby Crown Court on Thursday for failing to appear in court and an unrelated dangerous driving charge.

He will serve them in addition to the seven-and-a-half years handed out in his absence in January 2013 for 13 counts of money laundering.

Hussain, formerly of Ashburnam Grove, Manningham, had travelled overseas and persuaded four international companies to pay advance fees for the sole distribution rights to the drink in their respective countries, according to police.

He absconded during his trial and evaded justice for nearly 12 years, before being arrested flying into Warsaw Airport in August.

According to a 2013 Crimewatch appeal to locate Hussain, the scammer went as far as attending a trade fair in Dubai, along with his associates.

He approached representatives from drinks companies from Hong Kong, Iran, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates, and used several thousand dummy cans of the drink to dupe them into paying for exclusive sale rights.

The business folded in August 2009 before the victims could complain about a lack of supply or ask for their money back.

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