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Dubai cash mules who smuggled millions in suitcases sentenced

NCA Jonathan Johnson and Jo-Emma LarvinNCA
Jonathan Johnson and Jo-Emma Larvin, a couple from Ripon in North Yorkshire, took eight cases containing a total of £2.8m on a 2020 flight, the trial heard

Six people who smuggled millions of pounds in criminal cash stuffed in suitcases from London to Dubai have been sentenced.

Jo-Emma Larvin, Jonathan Johnson, Beatrice Auty, Amy Harrison, Nicola Esson and Muhammad Ilyas moved the cash between 2019 and 2020, detectives said.

At Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday, Auty was jailed for 42 months while the others received suspended sentences.

They had been convicted of removing criminal property in April.

The National Crime Agency said all six were part of a money-laundering scheme that saw more than £104m leave the UK, which was led by Abdullah Alfalasi, 48, who was jailed in July 2022 for nine years and seven months.

A trial had heard they transported the cash to Dubai, via Heathrow, during 83 separate trips between November 2019 and October 2020 and were paid about £3,000 for each journey, travelling in business class to allow for extra luggage.

NCA Beatrice AutyNCA
The National Crime Agency said Beatrice Auty, 26, who made multiple trips to Dubai with cash, was also involved in helping to pack money into suitcases for other couriers

The gang communicated on a WhatsApp group called "sunshine and lollipops" and a letter from a company called Omnivest was given to customs in Dubai while the cash was declared, jurors were told.

Officers said the network collected the cash, thought to be gained from drug dealing across the UK, and vacuum packed it in suitcases - each containing about £500,000 - sprayed with coffee or air fresheners in a bid to hide the contents from detection dogs.

Auty, 27, of Kingswoond House, Kingston, checked in seven suitcases containing £3.4m during her journeys. She was also involved in the "logistical arrangements" for a further 16 trips, the NCA said.

Larvin, 44, a model, and her partner Johnson, 55, both from Ripon in North Yorkshire, took eight cases containing a total of £2.8m on an Emirates flight on 9 September 2020, jurors heard.

She accompanied Harrison, 28, of Worcester Park, Surrey, taking seven cases between them containing £2.2m on another journey.

Courier films herself collating cash

Harrison also made three trips between July and September 2020 taking 15 suitcases containing around £6m, the NCA said.

Nicola Esson, 56, from Leeds, checked in 19 suitcases with a combined weight of almost half a tonne, while Muhammad Ilyas, 30, from Slough, smuggled £2.5m in four suitcases, one of which had gone missing but was later found by Border Force officers.

Another is yet to be sentenced and four others are due to stand trial in November.

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NCA Cash in bagsNCA
Bundles of £10, £20 and £50 notes were vacuum packed and placed in suitcases for transportation

Sentences

  • Beatrice Auty - 42 months jail term
  • Jo-Emma Larvin - 24 months suspended for two years
  • Amy Harrison - 24 months suspended for two years
  • Nicola Esson - 22 months suspended for two years
  • Muhammad Ilyas - 15 months suspended for two years
  • Jonathan Johnson - 12 months suspended for two years
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