A CREWMAN on South-ampton's flagship liner QE2 has been warned he faces up to three years in jail after being convicted of smuggling nearly two million cigarettes into Britain.

Jurors took almost three hours to find provisions manager Stephen Madden guilty on the three allegations he faced of fraudulently evading duty on tobacco.

Madden was arrested after Revenue and Customs officers swooped in Southampton docks in October following a tip off that more than 800,000 cigarettes were aboard the luxury liner.

Prosecutor Tim Moores alleged Madden, 42, had ordered his Filipino staff to help conceal three separate consignments of the contraband in the ship's hold last year.

The branded cigarette cartons were turned inside out, covered in black shrink-wrap and concealed in storage areas to avoid detection.

The city crown court heard how he had e-mailed a supply company in Gibraltar while the liner was at sea before paying for the cigarettes in cash.

Mr Moores said he had successfully smuggled more than 400,000 cigarettes and five kilos of tobacco in May.

Two months later he smuggled 620,000 cigarettes undetected, but he was arrested in a third bid.

The three charges involved a loss of revenue of about £350,000.

Madden, from Stafford, showed no emotion when the foreman announced the guilty verdicts.

Defence lawyer Alexander Stein accepted that under sentencing guidelines, he could receive up to three years behind bars but asked for bail to be extended so he could "put his house in order".

Judge Anna Guggenheim QC adjourned sentence until September and granted bail on the condition he reported three times a week to his local police station, surrendered his passport and did not apply for any international travel documents.

In his defence, Madden pointed the finger of blame at another member of staff, dry store manager Jeffery Rosaroso as paying for the contraband.

After the case, Revenue and Customs pokesman Bob Gaiger said he was delighted with the verdict.

"Smuggling should not be seen as a harmless tax fiddle. It deprives the Government of revenue which could be used to pay for public services, schools and hospitals," he added.