A crime family used a corrupt airline check-in worker to smuggle nearly £30m in cash out of Britain in luggage aboard Emirates aircraft, a court has been told.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds were transported in as many as five suitcases at once on Dubai-bound services from Manchester, Birmingham, and Brussels airports between December 2017 and November 2019.
Mother Heather Jeffrey, 58, her son Sheldan Noel, 30, and her daughter Lamara Noel, 34, all from Bradford, transported a combined total exceeding £11 million in cash collected from criminal organisations across northern England.
Together with additional couriers, they would hide hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash within clothing inside suitcases, before removing it from Britain without legally declaring it upon departure.
CCTV footage captures the moment couriers Devanyl Graham, 26, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and Sophie Logan, 31, who had been residing in Dubai, wheeled a total of seven suitcases through Manchester Airport’s terminal 1 in May 2018.
Emirates check-in desk worker Emma Rauf, 34, allowed suitcases containing cash to pass through at Manchester Airport, despite them exceeding the weight limit.
Emma Rauf
In October 2018, she and her brother Ben Royle, 32, retrieved £406,500 of illicit cash and placed it in the boot of her vehicle, which she parked on her parents’ driveway in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. Following a break-in where cash was stolen from the vehicle, the alleged ringleader of the operation – who cannot be identified as he awaits extradition to the UK to stand trial – demanded the siblings undergo lie detector tests to demonstrate their innocence.
Later that same month, a gunman opened fire on their parents’ house with bullets – although the property was empty at the time.
The criminal enterprise began to unravel after more than £780,000 was confiscated in two separate incidents at UK airports, triggering a National Crime Agency investigation.
Investigators discovered that courier Devanyl Graham had travelled to Dubai 18 times, declaring a combined total of £3.1 million in cash upon arrival, while Sophie Logan, the alleged organiser’s personal assistant, had made 38 flights to and from the emirate over two years – declaring £2.2 million on arrival.
Sheikh Jobe, 33, from Manchester, was enlisted by Ben Royle to transport £306,040 in cash from Manchester Airport in October 2018.
The cash was, however, discovered after check-in, leading to his arrest.
Get the latest crime and court news straight to your inbox – it’s FREE
After a 12-week trial at Bolton Crown Court, a jury found Devanyl Graham, Sheldan Noel, Lamara Noel, Heather Jeffrey, and Sophie Logan guilty of money laundering on June 4.
Check-in desk worker Emma Rauf entered a guilty plea on March 23, while Ben Royle and Sheikh Jobe admitted their guilt at hearings prior to the trial commencing. Logan, Graham, Sheldan Noel, Lamara Noel, Royle, Jeffrey and Jobe are due to be sentenced at the same court on October 1, while Emma Rauf will be sentenced on October 30.
The National Crime Agency’s Jon Hughes said: “This crime group smuggled cash from crime out of the UK on an industrial scale, to remove it from the scrutiny of law enforcement and launder it.
“Emma Rauf enabled many of these trips by exploiting her position as an airline employee to waive through suitcases stuffed with money to avoid detection by law enforcement.
“Cash is the lifeblood of organised crime groups. It fuels violence and insecurity around the world.
“Criminals are prepared to unleash violence to maintain control as the horrific shooting at Emma Rauf’s family home shows.
“This could have easily led to death or serious injury had someone been there, showing that Rauf and Royle recklessly placed their family in grave danger.
“Disrupting the supply of such illicit cash is a priority for the NCA and our partners.
“We will continue to target cash couriers and hit crime groups where it hurts – in the pocket – and those who hold roles or positions that facilitate serious and organised crime.
“We also work with other agencies to target the issue of insider threats at ports and airports.”
Join the FREE Coventry WhatsApp community to get the latest news straight to your phone. Find out more here.