Gillingham Cash Conmen Busted in £6.5 Million Laundering Spree
Metin Teke, 51, and Tamer Dalgic, 53, Turkish nationals living in Gillingham, have been jailed for running a massive money laundering scheme. The pair were snapped up by a joint National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police unit on 9 March 2020, after a probe cracked their cash-smuggling ring.
Caught Smuggling £850,000 in Cash
Between September 2019 and March 2020, Teke and Dalgic moved £850,000 out of the UK. Surveillance showed the duo regularly swapping cash with the same lorry drivers – Nasuf Nasufoglu, Ilhan Mehmed, and Bayram Kucuk – who have all been jailed for their roles. Their sentences ranged from 14 months to 4.5 years.
Phone Evidence Reveals £5.6 Million More
Investigators uncovered photos of piles of cash and detailed ledgers on the men’s phones, linking them to an additional £5.6 million funnelled through between June 2019 and February 2020. At Dalgic’s home, officers found £11,000 in cash, 66kg of rolling tobacco, 72,240 cigarettes, and a fake Polish driving licence.
Confessions and Sentences at Maidstone Crown Court
On arrest, Teke admitted to stashing cash under his bed and buying 7,200 cigarettes from a lorry driver—later found in his van. Both men appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on 26 January. Teke copped seven years and eight months for money laundering and dodging excise duty on cigarettes. Dalgic was handed two years and eight months for money laundering, possessing false identity documents, and tax evasion.
Matt McMillan from the OCP said: “These men believed they could transfer large sums of money under the radar. Little did they know we were watching, and this investigation shows the commitment of the NCA and Met to ensuring money launderers face justice.
“Money laundering fuels serious and organised crime. Together we’re determined to disrupt networks which provide this vital service to criminals.”
