A United Kingdom-based NRI has emerged as the gang ring leader of a cross-border, people smuggling and international money laundering racket. It has allegedly managed to siphon more than £42 million in cash abroad.

Charan Singh, 44, moved to Hounslow and created a West London-based organised crime group before residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A major long drawn probe carried out by the UK’s National Crime Agency has led to conviction of Charan Singh and his 15 other associates who were part of the crime syndicate. The arguments for sentencing all 16 convicted will begin in a hearing at the Croydon Crown Court starting Thursday, the NCA stated. Two trials were held from January, this year.

NCA crackdown

NCA investigators suspect that £42 million laundered abroad was profit from the sale of class A drugs and organised immigration crime, it said in a statement.

Besides that, the NCA was able to seize around £1.5 million from couriers leaving the UK, but Singh and his gang were able to funnel abroad much more, flight analysis, evidence from cash declarations in Dubai and other materials seized by the Agency showed.

Among the evidence, investigators were able to gather proof that Singh took care of air travel to Dubai of his gang members so that they could be used as couriers for ferrying cash, it stated. A ledger he kept gave away his modus operandi on cash transportation. The ledger is said to have inscripted Singh and his couriers’ at least 58 trips to Dubai during 2017 alone, the NCA revealed.

In November 2019, NCA began crack down on the gang picking up Singh. The first of the two trials saw six people, including Singh, found guilty of money laundering offences, the NCA said. Two were additionally convicted for facilitating illegal immigration along with a third individual, it pointed out.

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