Two Turkish Men Busted for Laundering Nearly £6 Million in Cash
Metin Teke, 51, and Tamer Dalgic, 53, Turkish nationals from Gillingham, have been locked up after a £5.6 million money laundering ring was smashed by a joint National Crime Agency (NCA) and Metropolitan Police unit.
£850,000 in Cash Seized During Surveillance
The duo were arrested on 9 March 2020 by the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) after months of surveillance uncovered their operation moving £850,000 in cash out of the UK between September 2019 and March 2020.
Officers caught Teke and Dalgic working closely with lorry drivers Nasuf Nasufoglu, Ilhan Mehmed, and Bayram Kucuk, who were already jailed for smuggling the dirty cash across borders.
Luxury Stash and Fake Documents Found
Police raids revealed £11,000 in cash, 66kg of rolling tobacco, and 72,240 cigarettes at Dalgic’s home, who also owned a counterfeit Polish driving licence. Teke admitted to hiding cash under his bed and was found with 7,200 smuggled cigarettes in his van.
Justice Served at Maidstone Crown Court
On 26 January, Teke copped a hefty sentence of seven years and eight months for money laundering and evading excise duty on cigarettes. Dalgic got two years and eight months for money laundering, possessing false ID, and similar cigarette offences.
Matt McMillan of the OCP hit back at the pair:
“These men thought they could sneak huge cash transfers under the radar. But we were watching. This operation shows how committed the NCA and Met are to cracking down on money launderers.”
“Money laundering fuels serious organised crime. We’re determined to smash these networks and cut off the lifeblood of criminals.”
