Leeds woman stuffed millions of pounds of drug money into 19 suitcases bound for Dubai

Nicola Esson, aged 56, was arrested in May 2021 as part of a crackdown by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on a network of cash mules transporting the ill-gotten gains from Heathrow to Dubai. Esson was one of six people sentenced this week for their part.

Isleworth Crown Court heard that the criminals were booked onto flights in first or business class, in order for them to be given extra luggage allowance and smuggle more cash. They were paid £3,000 for each trip they completed.

The network collected cash from criminal groups around the UK, which was mainly the profits of drug dealing, and took it to counting houses that were rented apartments in central London.

The money was then vacuum packed and separated into suitcases, which would typically each contain around £500,000. They were sprayed with coffee or air fresheners in an effort to prevent them being found by sniffer dogs.

Esson, of Stanks Drive, Swarcliffe, travelled from Heathrow to Dubai on three occasions in August and September 2020, checking in 19 suitcases with a combined weight of almost half a tonne.

She was given a 22-month jail term, suspended for two years. The other defendants, who come from Ripon, Doncaster, Surrey and Slough received suspended sentences, with one woman from London receiving a 42-month immediate jail term.

Adrian Searle, director of the National Economic Crime Centre in the NCA, said: “The laundering of such vast quantities of cash around the globe enables organised criminals and corrupt elites to clean or hide their ill-gotten gains.

“Cash smugglers work on behalf of international controller networks, who move the finances of the international drug trade, people traffickers, fraudsters and other criminal groups.

“This case demonstrates the continued commitment to crackdown on money laundering and target organised crime groups who cause misery and ruin lives.”

Esson is the second Leeds woman to be sentenced, after 32-year-old Tara Hanlon was jailed for nearly three years in 2021. She had travelled from Heathrow to Dubai on three occasions in August and September 2020, checking in 18 suitcases which contained £6.8 million.

She was caught at Heathrow after she was searched and found to have £2 million stuffed in five suitcases that she had checked in.

Meawnhile, Stacey Borg, 41, of Carr Road, Calverley, is awaiting sentence for her part. She made three trips to Dubai, on one occasion travelling with Esson. She declared £1.8 million in cash to Dubai customs in September 2020 and £2.5 million the following month.

NCA senior investigating officer Ian Truby said: “These couriers smuggled cash out of the UK on an industrial scale, at the behest of organised crime groups.

“They were prepared to travel out to the UAE for a holiday in the sun, in return for a cut of the profit.

“This case demonstrates the NCA’s commitment to targeting the criminal networks involved in money laundering.

“Profits are often re-invested into criminal activities such as drug trafficking. This fuels violence and insecurity in the UK and across the world, which is why our investigation continues.”