A drugs gang used metal recyclers to launder cash and tried to fraudulently secure waste-management grants, law enforcement officers have revealed.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the organised crime group used a courier to take money to a scrap yard in a suspected payment for stolen metal.
The gang also attempted to secure access to government funding to remove waste from a commercial site they controlled despite not having the capacity to deliver this service legally.
The criminals were looking to divert these funds, “most likely to other criminal ventures”, according to the NCA.
Rickinder Hare, 36, and Neelen Balarajah, 34, were sentenced to a total of 14 years and six months for money laundering and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. The courier passed away before trial.
On Friday January 19 2022, NCA officers witnessed Balarajah take possession of a Gucci-embossed box found to contain more than £20,000. When challenged, he attempted to escape, driving his car at arresting officers who had to use an unmarked vehicle to block him.
Investigators identified that Hare, of William Street, Knightsbridge, had organised the exchange. Searches of Balarajah’s home in Pinner, Middlesex, found a “substantial amount” of cash, herbal cannabis, cocaine and empty wrappings that tested positive for traces of cocaine.
To date, cash totalling more than £1.2m has been seized from the group, as well as £350,000 in assets including a diamond-encrusted Rolex Daytona watch worth over £200,000.
