Airport employee smuggled £30million to Dubai for designer bling and boob job
Emma Rauf, 34, abused her position at a check-in desk at Manchester Airport for couriers smuggling cash to Dubai. She used her cut to buy designer goods and a boob job
Emma Rauf, 34(Image: Emma Rauf)
An airline check-in worker has confessed to assisting a criminal organisation in trafficking millions of pounds to Dubai so she could purchase luxury items and cosmetic surgery.
Emma Rauf, 34, exploited her role at a check-in counter at Manchester Airport to aid couriers transporting the money to the UAE metropolis.
Her family’s residence was subsequently targeted in a shooting after £406,500 vanished from her vehicle when she left it in the boot on her driveway overnight, Bolton Crown Court heard. The criminal who owned the missing funds threatened that whoever stole it would receive a “bullet through the head” and demanded Rauf undergo a lie detector examination, the court was told.
Following Rauf’s refusal, multiple shots were discharged through the front entrance and sitting room window of the family residence in Hale. She was subsequently observed carrying stuffed bags to a secure deposit facility in Manchester City Centre, the court heard.
Heather Jeffrey, 58, her son Sheldan Noel, 30, and daughter Lamara Noel, 34, all from Bradford, transported a combined sum exceeding £11million in cash collected from criminal organisations across northern England. Alongside fellow couriers, they would hide hundreds of thousands of pounds in currency within clothing inside luggage, before removing it from the UK without lawfully declaring it upon exit, reports the Mirror.
CCTV captures the instance when couriers Devanyl Graham, 26, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and Sophie Logan, 31, who had been residing in Dubai, wheeled seven suitcases through Manchester Airport’s Terminal 1 in May 2018. Rauf was seen allowing suitcases filled with cash to be smuggled onto flights, despite exceeding the weight limit.
The jury viewed videos she had sent to family members flaunting a Louis Vuitton handbag, Valentino shoes, a diamond ring and a Rolex watch inside a Bentley. The court also heard messages indicating that Rauf had cosmetic breast surgery funded as a result of her involvement in the crime.
Bill Baker KC, prosecuting, stated that she was willing to jeopardise her job at Emirates airline to “enjoy the lifestyle” afforded by commissions on the laundered money. He said: “The lure of designer goods and expensive watches was no doubt her motivation for involving herself in very serious organised crime.”
The scheme began to unravel after more than £780,000 was confiscated in two incidents at UK airports, leading to an investigation by the National Crime Agency. Investigators discovered that courier Devanyl Graham had flown to Dubai 18 times, declaring a total of £3.1million in cash upon arrival, while Sophie Logan, the personal assistant to the alleged organiser, had travelled to and from the city 38 times in two years – declaring £2.2million upon arrival.
Sheikh Jobe, 33, from Manchester, was enlisted by Ben Royle to transport £306,040 in cash from Manchester Airport back in October 2018. However, the cash was detected after check-in, resulting in his arrest. After a 12-week trial at Bolton Crown Court, a jury found Devanyl Graham, Sheldan Noel, Lamara Noel, Heather Jeffrey, and Sophie Logan guilty of money laundering on June 4.
Rauf changed her plea to guilty on March 23, while Ben Royle and Sheikh Jobe admitted their guilt at hearings prior to the trial commencing. Logan, Graham, Sheldan Noel, Lamara Noel, Royle, Jeffrey, Jobe and Rauf are set to receive their sentences at the same court in October.
Jon Hughes from the NCA stated: “This crime group smuggled cash from crime out of the UK on an industrial scale, to remove it from the scrutiny of law enforcement and launder it. Emma Rauf enabled many of these trips by exploiting her position as an airline employee to waive through suitcases stuffed with money to avoid detection by law enforcement.
“Cash is the lifeblood of organised crime groups. It fuels violence and insecurity around the world.
“Criminals are prepared to unleash violence to maintain control as the horrific shooting at Emma Rauf’s family home shows. This could have easily led to death or serious injury had someone been there, showing that Rauf and Royle recklessly placed their family in grave danger.
“Disrupting the supply of such illicit cash is a priority for the NCA and our partners. We will continue to target cash couriers and hit crime groups where it hurts – in the pocket – and those who hold roles or positions that facilitate serious and organised crime.
“We also work with other agencies to target the issue of insider threats at ports and airports.”
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