03 October 2024 , 16:17
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Nine men from Manchester have been arrested in a large-scale operation to dismantle an Organized Crime Group (OCG) believed to be smuggling people into the country using fake documents.
Greater Manchester Police have told LBC they believe the gang have laundered in excess of £40m over the last 18 months as they try to hide the profits of their illegal activities.
The raids, across nine addresses in Greater Manchester, are the culmination of a lengthy investigation into individuals suspected of being involved in high level money laundering offences spanning at least three years.
Assets worth £150k have been seized and three other addresses are also being searched following the co-ordinated action.
The gang are suspected to have profited from organised immigration crime in Manchester by producing fake identities and businesses in an attempt to money launder their criminal profits.
A total of 12 properties across Manchester have been searched and items of jewellery, watches and vehicles estimated to be worth in excess of £150,000 have been seized.
Detective Superintendent Andy Buckthorpe who leads GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “We’ve got people coming into the UK who shouldn’t be here, on false pretences, companies that don’t exist, claiming to be working in the UK when clearly we believe these are facades and these companies don’t exist.
“Passports, driving licenses, HMRC documents, visa applications, this crime group are involved in that type of activity. They have a whole host of illegal commodity at their fingertips and they’re using it to facilitate different types of criminality.
“This is a high level OCG that we believe are involved in significant money laundering and fraud offences, and also linked to organised immigration crime offences whereby we believe members of this OCG are facilitating the illegal travel of individuals into the UK on false visas and false documents.
“We know this money is probably the proceeds of drug dealing activity. We know what ocmes with that, the violence that’s associated with organised drug dealing. People involved in that kind of activity need to have a means to legitamise their money and we believe this OCG are facilitating that kind of money laundering on a large scale.
“Today’s action will definitely cause disruption among criminal networks within Greater Manchester as they wake up and hear this news, and hopefully this action today will be reassuring to those members of the public who are rightly concerned by money laundering in our communities.
“As a unit, our focus will always remain on dismantling organised criminal finances and we will work with this same momentum, seizing cash and assets from those who wish to harm our communities and we are asking the public to remain vigilant and if you see, or suspect something is wrong, tell us, and we can do something about it."
Police belive the money is likely the proceeds of drug dealing activity. Picture: LBC