Five people have been convicted of their roles in a large-scale cash smuggling operation that moved criminal money from the UK to Dubai, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The agency said the group used airport systems to transport large sums of cash linked to organised crime. Five other defendants were convicted by a jury on 4 June, while Rauf, Royle and Jobe had previously admitted their involvement in the smuggling scheme.
Among those named by the NCA, Devanyl Graham, 26, from Dewsbury, is said to have flown to Dubai 18 times. The agency also said Heather Jeffrey, 58, her son Sheldan Noel, 30, and daughter Lamara Noel, 34, all from Bradford, collected cash from organised crime groups before flying it to Dubai.
The NCA said the operation was run on an industrial scale and relied on repeated travel and airport processes to shift criminal proceeds overseas. Branch commander Jon Hughes said the group had exploited airport systems to move large amounts of illicit cash.
All of the defendants are due to be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court later this year.
The case highlights how organised crime groups continue to rely on couriers and international travel routes to move money beyond the reach of UK law enforcement. Authorities say such operations can help criminal networks conceal profits from illegal activity and make it harder to trace the flow of funds.
According to the NCA, the defendants worked together to collect and transport cash that had been gathered from organised crime groups. The repeated trips to Dubai suggest an organised and sustained effort to move proceeds out of the country.
The convictions follow a jury verdict against five other defendants and earlier guilty pleas from Rauf, Royle and Jobe. Together, the case forms part of a wider investigation into cross-border money movement and the laundering of criminal profits through international routes.
The sentencing hearing at Bolton Crown Court later this year will determine the penalties for those convicted. The NCA said the scale of the operation showed how criminal groups can attempt to use legitimate travel systems to facilitate illegal finance, even as law enforcement agencies continue to target such networks.
