£23,000 in Cash Hidden Inside Kids’ Toys Seized at Channel Tunnel
Border Force Snaps Driver with Stash of Banknotes
More than £23,000 in cash was found stashed inside children’s toys after a car was stopped at the Channel Tunnel terminal in Folkestone. The driver claimed the toys were unwanted Christmas gifts destined for families in Germany. But officers weren’t buying it — especially when stacks of banknotes were discovered hidden in the packaging.
£10,000 More Found in Carrier Bag
The search didn’t stop at the toys. Investigators uncovered an extra £10,000 tucked away in a carrier bag inside the vehicle. The Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate suspected the cash was linked to illegal activities and swiftly applied for a forfeiture order.
Driver and Passenger Fail to Explain Cash
Perparim Emini, 42, from Oldbury, West Midlands, was behind the wheel when Border Force officers stopped him on 12 February 2019. He claimed he was on a business trip to Germany to buy tyres with a companion. Both men initially denied knowledge of the hidden cash, but Emini later admitted ownership of the money found in the toys. Another man, Flurim Gaxherri, 39, from Oldbury, claimed the £10,000 in the carrier bag was his.
Magistrates Reject Cash Claims – No Charges But Money Lost
Neither Emini nor Gaxherri faced criminal charges, but neither could convince magistrates that the cash was clean. Folkestone magistrates granted the prosecution’s request to seize the money under the Proceeds of Crime Act on 23 December 2019. Both men now have 30 days to appeal.
“While neither Mr Emini nor Mr Gaxherri were charged with any criminal offences, they were unable to prove to the courts that the money…was not going to be used in unlawful conduct,” said Detective Inspector Annie Clayton.
“This is yet another great example of how our financial investigators use the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure people are not allowed to benefit from illegally-earned funds or use cash to commit further offences.”
Recovered assets like this are shared between police forces and the Home Office under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), funneling seized cash back into fighting crime across the UK.
