(Image: NCA)
A mother and daughter have been sentenced for their role in a money laundering gang that smuggled nearly £13 million to Dubai.
Heather Jeffrey, 58, of of Potter Close in Low Moor, and her children Sheldan Noel, 30, of Loweswater Avenue, Woodside, and Lamara Noel, 34, all from Bradford, were part of a network that transported criminal cash in suitcases on Emirates flights to the United Arab Emirates between December 2017 and November 2019.
The group smuggled nearly £13 million out of the UK over 30 trips.
They used instructions sent via WhatsApp to collect money from organised crime groups across northern England.
Sheldan Noel is not due to be sentenced until November (Image: NCA)
How many years did they get?
At Bolton Crown Court today (Friday), Jeffrey was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison and Lamara Noel to five years.
The sentencing of Sheldan Noel, also of Potter Close in Low Moor, will start on November 27.
Bradford's Sheldon Noel at Birmingham Airport with a huge quantity of cash found in his suitcase (Image: NCA)
'Illicit cash is the lifeblood of organised crime groups'
Jon Hughes, branch commander at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: "This crime group smuggled enormous quantities of cash, to remove it from the attention of law enforcement.
"Illicit cash is the lifeblood of organised crime groups, fuelling violence and insecurity around the world.
"This is why disrupting its supply is a priority for the NCA and our partners, hitting crime groups in the pocket where it hurts the most."
Others involved in the scheme
The gang was supported by a corrupt Emirates check-in attendant, Emma Rauf, who helped couriers bypass checks at Manchester Airport.
Members of the network were put up in luxury hotels in Dubai and treated to high-end restaurants, nightclubs, and beach clubs during their stays.
Couriers regularly transported hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time.
The operation began to unravel when £788,455 was seized at UK airports across three incidents, triggering the NCA investigation.
Other members of the network received jail terms ranging from four years and three months to seven-and-a-half years.
Suspected to be working under a Dubai-based Brit
International networks use cash smuggling, cryptocurrencies, and banking systems to move billions of pounds of illicit funds each year.
They aim to seize cash, arrest, and disrupt launderers, as well as working with government to make money laundering harder in the first place by closing gaps in the system and combating the methods used.
Investigators believe the convicted group was working under the direction of a Dubai-based British organiser who remains unnamed for legal reasons and is awaiting extradition to the UK.