A passenger found with £1 million ($1.3 million) in cash in his suitcases at Heathrow Airport has admitted money laundering.
Mazen Al Shaar, 48, was on his way to Beirut when he was stopped by Border Force officers at the UK's biggest airport on March 15, and the money was seized.
Mr Al Shaar appeared at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Mr Al Shaar's barrister Andrew Bird told the court that his client is a person “of good character” who was “acting under direction” rather than being the owner of the cash.
The amount he was caught with is about £1 million, Mr Bird said, but the final figure will be revealed once the UK's National Crime Agency finishes counting the cash, which is being held in a warehouse.
Prosecutor Atticus Blick told the court he accepted the case put forward by Mr Al Shaar's legal team that he was acting as a courier. As such, the offence is being treated as if he was acting under coercion and not for personal gain, he said.
Judge Karen Holt said Mr Al Shaar will be sentenced on April 29 and the offence carries a maximum prison sentence of three years but his guilty plea entitles him to a reduction to about two years.
Al Shaar, a supermarket worker from Middlesex, had claimed he only had £500 in cash on him and was leaving the UK to visit family. But officers searched his three suitcases and two of them contained the huge cash haul. He was convicted following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.
NCA operations manager Peter Jones said: “Cash like this is the lifeblood of organised crime groups. So many of the serious and organised crime threats facing the UK are driven by offenders’ greed, their thirst for money.”
Mr Jones said Al Shaar's conviction has “punched a hole” in a “crime group’s finances and very importantly, taken a trusted money launderer out of use”.
The Home Office said the seizure “highlights Border Force's dedicated efforts to protect our borders and keep the public safe”.
“Our officers are trained to spot suspicious behaviour and identify attempts to move illicit cash and other prohibited items across our borders,” said a representative. “We continue to work closely with law enforcement partners including the NCA to disrupt criminal networks.”
Al Shaar's arrest came soon after customs officials at Beirut Airport arrested a man arriving from Turkey with a bag containing $1.4 million in cash.
A group of couriers who smuggled cash into Dubai as part of a £100 million money-laundering operation were jailed in the UK in 2023.
Gang members were paid about £3,000 each to take business-class flights with money from drug deals vacuum-sealed and packed into suitcases, typically containing up to £500,000 and weighing 40kg each.
The network collected cash – believed to be the profits of drug deals – from criminal groups in the UK and took it to counting houses, usually in rented apartments in central London.
In less than a year, couriers communicating through a WhatsApp group called Sunshine and Lollipops took more than 80 flights carrying the money.
Their network smuggled more than £104 million from the UK to Dubai during 83 separate trips between November 2019 and October 2020.
They were overseen by Abdullah Alfalasi, 47, who was jailed for more than nine years in July last year after an operation led by the National Crime Agency.
BLACKBERRY
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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HOW TO WATCH
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'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
FA CUP FINAL
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
