Cash courier caught with £64,000 of dirty money in Halifax
Afzhan Nasar Hussain, 42, of Old Station Court, Heckmondwike, was seen collecting a bag filled with cash from an off-licence in Halifax on 5 September 2017, an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed.
Hussain left the shop on Hopwood Lane and drove away in a BMW. Soon after he was pulled over by HMRC officers at a petrol station on Godley Lane.
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Hide AdOfficers searched the vehicle and found the bag filled with £64,000 cash.
Hussain was arrested at the scene and the cash was seized. When questioned by investigators, he refused to comment or explain where any of the money had come from.
He later admitted the money did not belong to him and he was collecting the bag of cash as a favour for an associate.
Hussain said he was told that it amounted to £5,000.
On 21 November 2017 the money was forfeited to the Crown following a hearing at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court.
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Hide AdHe admitted possession of criminal property at Bradford Crown Court on 11 December 2018 and was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, at the same court today (Tuesday).
An HMRC spokesperson said: “Hussain was carrying thousands of pounds of unexplained cash. He thought his criminal activity would go unnoticed, but he was wrong and now he is paying the price.
“People involved in money laundering help to fund the illegal activities of organised crime gangs. Anyone with information about this type of crime should report it to HMRC online, or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
Information about any type of tax fraud can be reported to HMRC online at www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business.
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