Gold Bars Seized at Heathrow: Criminal Cash Launderers Busted
A Singaporean woman was caught red-handed at Heathrow Airport in March 2020 with gold bars hidden in her hand luggage. She was en route from Singapore to Chennai, India, when Border Force officers stopped her and found the bars.
Fake Story, Fake Invoices
The woman claimed she was ferrying gold between jewellers in Singapore and India but couldn’t explain her odd travel route. The National Crime Agency (NCA) took over the investigation. They soon uncovered that the invoices she carried were fake, and the supposed Chennai jeweller didn’t even exist.
Gold Linked to Criminal Money Laundering Network
After a two-day hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates on 26 January 2022, the court ordered the gold bars forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act. NCA Branch Commander Andy Noyes said:
“Gold is an attractive commodity for criminals to use to move money because relatively small amounts can have a high value. Our investigation pointed to these gold bars belonging to a criminal money laundering network active in both Europe and Asia. We think they were attempting to move them through London to disguise their routing and avoid the attentions of Indian law enforcement upon arrival there.”
He added: “NCA investigators worked with Indian partners to disprove the story given by the woman carrying the gold bars and show that, on the balance of probabilities, they were proceeds of crime. Working with partners like Border Force, we are determined to disrupt the flow of illicit money coming through the UK.”
