WEBVTT - Sunshine and Lollipops | 6 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:07.000 Just a warning, this episode contains descriptions of suicidal thoughts. 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:08.880 From what I've seen, he had a very good lifestyle, 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:13.160 expensive watches, nice places to live, certainly had a top 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:15.640 of arrange Mercedes for the top of my head, traveled 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:19.280 a lot, had use of his wife's family's flat in London. 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:21.400 He's got no criminal record, He's not known to law 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.759 enforcement anywhere in the world prior to this, so you know, 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:27.680 he had all of the front of a successful, legitimate businessman. 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.440 I've relived this in my head over and over so 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.000 many times because it was just horrendous. 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.120 It's six am on a late spring morning in northern England. 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.040 The sun has already risen. On the top floor of 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:50.800 a terraced house, a woman is peacefully asleep. 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.200 I was just done me on in bed. I remember 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:56.880 I didn't have any underwear on. I just had a 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:57.280 brower on. 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:00.760 Suddenly there's a banging her front door. 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:04.400 I thought it was a postman with a parcel or something. 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.800 So I remember, like EFFI and Jeffing walking down the 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.759 stairs thinking why the fuck are they banging so loud. 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.120 I got a towel and wrapped it around me, you know, 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:15.920 so I could sort of eye behind the door and 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:20.400 grab my parcel. I opened the door and they said 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.760 it was the police. And my initial thought was something's 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:27.000 happened to my son, because if the police are knocking 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:29.880 your door at that time, you think something's happened to 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:34.200 somebody that you know. Never in a million years did 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:37.000 I think it was anything that I'd done. That was 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:38.000 not my initial thought. 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.840 As it turns out, her initial thought was wrong. The 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.280 police are here to speak to her. 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:49.000 At first, I only saw like three of them on 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:53.560 the doorstep, and then when I looked around them, I 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.640 saw that there was laws more of them. I remember 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:59.800 saying I've got no onncas on because they were trying 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:01.120 to put their way in, and I was like, I've 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.640 got no fucking knickers on, and they were like, yeah, 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.840 we don't care, and just push the door and just 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:11.120 sort of frog match me upstairs, and then said I'm 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.760 go in the bedroom with this female officer and get dressed. 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:17.560 I remember I was on my period at the time 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:20.720 and saying to her, I need to go like sort 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:24.239 myself out, and she was like, well, I need to 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:26.920 come with you, and she basically came with me to 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:27.480 the toilet. 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.560 The officer watches her every movement. She's concerned the woman 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.359 might flush away her mobile phone, which could have incriminating evidence. 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.280 I remember one of the officers looking around my house 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.800 and saying it's a nice house, like you're not the 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.320 sort of person to be involved in this sort of stuff. 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:51.200 They let her get dressed. She's taken into her front room, 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:55.200 where she's surrounded by a group of officers. They're from 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:59.880 the UK's National Crime Agency, tasked with fighting organized crime. 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:02.720 They're often compared to the FBI. 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:08.040 And then they sat me down on the sofa, read 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:12.720 me my rights. I was thinking, this is not me, 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:16.840 this is not happening to me, this is not real. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.040 It was like a dream. And then they basically said 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:26.840 I was arrested for money laundring and being involved in 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:31.400 an international crime gang. And then I just burst out crying. 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.520 I'm Fiona Hamilton and from The Times, The Sunday Times 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:45.600 and News Corp Australia. This is Cocaine Inc. Episode six, 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:56.440 Sunshine and Lollipops. Last time, David Collins was in Merseyside 0:03:56.880 --> 0:04:00.640 where the cocaine retail market is chaotic but there's still 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:03.200 profit to be made. 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.640 Yes there is, but the problem of drug money is 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:08.880 it's dirty, meaning if you try to spend the cash 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.880 that you made from selling coke, then that's going to 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.840 raise suspicions about where all those banknotes came from. So 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.440 you need to clean that money to make it look 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:22.880 like it came from legitimate business. In the UK, gangs 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.599 do that by fiddling the books in legal businesses like 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:33.320 this tanning salon. Ten minutes on a subed costs you 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:38.360 three pounds in cash, no cards, so no electronic trail. 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:44.359 It's quiet today. There's only been three customers wanted to 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:48.760 use a sunbed, but that's okay because according to the 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:52.520 business accounts, which are kept on paper, at least one 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:58.920 hundred people came through. That sleight of hand means a 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:02.400 salon zonner can go to a bank and pay three 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:06.039 hundred pounds as a day's takings, making that money look 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:09.640 as if it's legal. Of course it isn't. Only nine 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.640 pounds is from real customers. The rest is from selling cocaine. 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.000 But once it's in the bank, nobody can prove that. 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.640 Do that five days a week, fifty two weeks a 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:24.680 year and you can clean almost eighty thousand pounds through 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:28.920 this one salon enough to buy a BMW or put 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:30.880 down a deposit on a house and a nice part 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:35.320 of the city. But the cocaine business isn't about scraping 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.920 together enough cash for a house deposit. In this world, 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:44.240 eighty grand is only spare change. The real operators they 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.839 clean their money using a similar method to this subed operation, 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.600 but they do it on a much bigger scale, Which 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:54.400 brings me back to the woman who was woken by police, 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:58.040 the person Fiona was telling you about at the start 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:02.039 of the episode, and how I found myself going to 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:08.720 meet her. So I'm sitting in a hotel room. It's 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:13.160 a secret location. So often people who want to give 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.640 you stories in the world of organized crime, do you 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:20.880 want to stay anonymous? It's not unusual. However, what is 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:23.320 unusual about this interview is who she is and what 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:27.120 she did. We're not going to use her name and 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.120 we're not going to identify her. So what you're about 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:36.279 to hear is her words, but an actor speaking those words. 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:42.159 In twenty nineteen, just before all this happened, I was 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.120 in a really good place. I was probably at the 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.719 top of my game. I just got out of a 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:52.440 horrible relationship, moved into a beautiful home. I was self 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.120 implied some a salary will theary, but on a good 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:58.880 month it could be anywhere between four and six grand. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.080 Was exactly where I wanted it to be. I was 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:06.359 massively into my fitness. I had a great group of friends, 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:10.080 and I was just very very happy. 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.520 I'm going to call this woman Francesca. I'd describe her 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:17.000 as somewhat glamorous. She works in a beauty industry. I 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:20.640 won't be any more specific than that. She's warm, friendly 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.800 and bubbly. You can tell she spends a working life 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:26.840 chatting with lots of different people and putting them at ease. 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:30.560 This is the first time she or any of the 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:35.200 people she got mixed up with, have publicly told their story. 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:39.880 That story starts in late twenty nineteen and early twenty twenty, 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:44.200 when Francesca was, as she says, where she wanted to be. 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.800 They now follows a ministerial broadcast from the Prime Minister. 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:53.760 Good evening, the coronavirus is the biggest threat this country 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:57.360 has faced for decades, and this country is not alone. 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.760 Then lockdown here and completely turn my life upside down 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:03.600 and screwed. 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:05.960 Me from this evening. I must give the British people 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:12.240 a very simple instruction, you must stay at home. I 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:15.160 am officially declaring a national emergency. 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:18.679 Life and frankly, freedom as we know it are both 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:20.440 going to change dramatically. 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.520 The breaking news stay at home, that is the order tonight. 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.120 More than three billion people in almost seventy countries and 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.000 territories have been asked to stay at home. 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:35.000 On the twenty third of March. In twenty twenty, as 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.640 the COVID pandemic swept across the globe, the UK went 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:42.480 into a national lockdown, and for those like Francesca who 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:45.120 needed to meet people face to face and make a living, 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:46.520 that was a problem. 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:51.319 I was out of work, so all of my money 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.000 just stopped. I skoot to the bank of mom and 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:56.600 dad and they don't have a lot of money. 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.720 What did your finances look like at that point? 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:06.280 Absolutely dire loads of debt, not just to credit cards 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.720 and whatnot, but to friends and family, which was just 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:11.040 keeping me up at night. 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:17.000 How much do you reckon? Roughly like total debt to friends, family, credit. 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:21.480 Cards, probably about twenty grand. At that point, I was thinking, 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.840 am I going to lose my home? Because I'd spoken 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.280 to my landlord and I'd asked him if I could 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.880 have a bit of a break on my rent payments, 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.840 and he was just like, absolutely not. If you can't 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:36.600 afford it, you can get out. 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:41.520 In May of twenty twenty, COVID restrictions started to ease 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.880 a little, but the beauty sector was still classed as 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:48.360 high risk, which meant Francesca would not be allowed to 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:50.000 work until later that summer. 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.959 I met a friend of a friend and she was 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:57.280 in a similar industry to me, so we were kind 0:09:57.320 --> 0:09:59.480 of exchanging notes and having a bit of a moan 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:04.480 about it, and then she said, well, actually I've been 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:06.439 giving this opportunity to work and to buy for a 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:10.440 beauty academy. You get flown first class and you make 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:14.640 X amount of money. And that was initially how she 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:19.760 sold it to me, and then bit by bit it 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:23.680 became apparent that it wasn't what she initially said. 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:27.720 It was hand on heart. What did you think it was? 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:33.440 My first question was is it drugs? Because I just 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:39.959 knew that I would not smuggle drugs, But it was money. 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.719 What exactly were you asked to do? I was asked to. 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:48.120 Take suitcases full of money. I wasn't told the exact amount, 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.240 but I did know that it was more than was 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:57.160 legally allowed, and then that money would be sort of 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:01.800 supplied with some documents so that we could declare it 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:02.520 in Dubai. 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:09.640 So this was the job. What Francesco had agreed to 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:14.080 do was carry suitcases from London to Dubai, but she 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.640 didn't quite know what she was getting into because inside 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:22.520 those suitcases was millions of pounds in banknotes. This was 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:27.920 the hard cash street profit of organized crime groups, much 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:31.840 of it coming from cocaine. The way it worked is 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:35.240 that Francesca would go to Heathrow Airport with another woman 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:39.080 and check in on business class. They turn up in pairs, 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:43.600 pretending they were going on a girl's weekend away. In return, 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.640 they were paid three thousand pounds in cash. The group 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:51.160 would later become known as a Sunshine and Lollipops gang, 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:56.359 named after one of their WhatsApp groups. Francesca's first assignment 0:11:56.760 --> 0:12:02.439 was in the summer of twenty twenty. What were thinking 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:04.000 in bed the night before? 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:09.880 I had mixed emotions, scared of the thought of checking in, 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:15.960 just overthinking every little detail of it, but also a 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:19.640 little bit of excitement as well, because I've never flown 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:26.240 business class before. And too experienced to buy. 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:29.600 The day of the flight, Francesca and another woman took 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:33.120 the train to London together. How it worked was that 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.640 they would get WhatsApp messages from those higher up in 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.719 the chain telling them where to go and what to do. 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:46.240 Everybody had to meet at a Starbucks in London. I 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.120 think we ended up having to wait four hours or something. 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:52.680 The other person I was doing it with said they 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.560 just do this all the time. They just changed plans 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:58.720 for one reason or another, and you don't get much detail. 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.280 The women didn't know who they were working for. All 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.120 they could do was wait for instructions. 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.280 And then a driver would come to collect us from 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:15.240 the Starbucks. This very swanky car blacked out, you know, 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:19.440 like a proper show for in a people carrier. We 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.320 were getting messages telling us what to do next. They 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:25.040 want to know exactly where you are at all times. 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.080 The driver was obviously getting messed as well, so that 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.000 they knew exactly where to go, and then we would 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:34.120 go to another address to collect the cases in a 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:35.800 really swanky part of London. 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.880 Soon the driver pulled up outside a very plush building 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:45.360 in London's West End. The can you imagine TV stars 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.640 or maybe a hedge fund executive would live in. 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:51.719 We were just sat in the car, and then the 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.960 driver would get out and two people would come from 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:58.680 the apartment or the house with the cases and put 0:13:58.720 --> 0:13:59.920 them in the back of the car. 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.720 The whole time the women never left the car so 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:07.040 couldn't see exactly what was happening or who was involved. 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:12.560 Between them, they'd count them and say to the driver, there's, 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:17.000 you know, this many cases, and I was like, what 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:22.320 the fuck is going on? There was seven cases. I thought, shit, 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:23.240 that's a lot of money. 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:25.280 And what did the cases look like? 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:31.160 Black hardshell, good quality, with the code on to open it, 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:37.280 which were clearly locked. And I do remember thinking, what 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.160 if they ask us to open it and we don't 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.720 know the code, that's going to look pretty sous. And 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:47.280 then the driver started driving again, and constantly you would 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:51.840 be getting text saying where you now, Like if you're 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.840 in traffic, you'd have to constantly be telling them you wereabouts. 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.600 The driver, who had still not said a single word 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.520 to the w drove them to Heathrow, one of the 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:05.240 world's busiest airports, the. 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:08.040 Closest to the airport I got. The more nervous I 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:11.040 got they did tell us to get a little bit 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.760 dressed up, just look a bit suave. So I remember 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:16.520 making sure I had a full face of makeup on 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.040 and just looking like I would be the sort of 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:23.120 person that would fly business class. I'm not there in 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.480 my you know, capatrack suit. 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.880 It had been hours since Francesca had arrived in London, 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.920 but finally late in the evening, throughout heath Row. 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:40.120 We get to the airport, get the trolleys. I got three, 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:45.640 the other person got four, and then wheel them over 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:49.800 to the checking desk. And it's pretty quiet in the airport. 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:53.120 There's not a lot of people there, and that's for 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:56.480 a reason because they rushed through, as you've not got 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.120 a lot of time to get onto the flight. 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:03.480 Whoever was organizing this operation knew that the later the 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:07.680 women arrived at the airport, especially as business class customers, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.480 they would be less likely to have their luggage checked thoroughly, 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:16.440 and instead rushed onto the plane. Everything was set up 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.840 to give the impression that these were busy, successful women 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:23.720 running late for an expensive flight, not the kind of 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.400 people who you need to ask questions. Any baggage can 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:31.680 we take quite quick at the four weeks But in 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:35.280 that moment where you've got the seven cases and you're 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:39.120 picking them up one by one and putting them on 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.000 the little conveyor belt that goes into the back are yeah, 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:44.240 what were you thinking? Then? 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:49.400 It was a million thoughts like shit, what if they 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:54.560 opened the case? But then equally just smiling and playing 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:58.120 this role of this fancy lady that's flying business class. 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:03.400 It worked. Within an hour, Francesca and the other woman 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:07.560 were walking onto the flight, turning left sitting in business 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:11.200 class while their cases were being loaded onto the plane. 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:15.800 The flight attendant came round offering champagne, but until the 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:19.600 plane's wheels left the runway, there was still a chance 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:23.840 it could all go wrong. Francesca even daydreamed about it. 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:30.720 I remember visualizing security coming onto the flight. But once 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:33.199 the flight let a tarmac and you're up in the 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.600 air and you've got that glass of champagne in your hand, 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:40.560 the sense of relief I cannot explain to you. 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:46.400 Seven hours later, the plane landed in Dubai, a gleaming 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:51.480 city of skyscrapers and extravagant spending in the United Arab Emirates. 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.560 At this point, the women were sent the codes to 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:59.680 open the suitcases again via WhatsApp. Before they could leave, 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:03.720 they had to declare the money flagging down a customs official. 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:07.639 Francesca was led into a room with opate glass with 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.440 two officers inside, and. 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:12.520 Then they're just like taking the money out of the 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.959 case and then just took it on the table count it. 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.040 They don't bat an eyelid because as soon as you 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:22.200 see that paperwork, I mean one they must see it 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.399 all the time, or two that paperwork tells them everything 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:25.800 they need. 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.600 The paperwork Francesca's referring to is what you're handed over 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:34.639 to the customs officials. That letter said the money was 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:39.200 for a registered business based in Dubai called Omnivest Gold Trading. 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:44.040 That company was owned by a man called Abdullah al Fallassi. 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:48.000 To me, it seems amazing that they didn't ask any 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:51.600 more questions about two British women carrying millions of pounds 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:55.280 in their suitcases. Yes, there was paperwork, but at least 0:18:55.359 --> 0:19:00.480 flag it is suspicious. Anyway, the emiralty officials simply counted 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:01.240 it out. 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.399 The first time I saw the money, I felt like 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:09.480 I was in a film or it wasn't real. It 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:13.359 was just so real. It was like a dream. I 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:15.960 couldn't believe how much it was. I didn't really think 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.520 it was going to be into the millions, and I thought, 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:22.439 what the fuck have I got myself into? 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:28.880 After being waved through, Francesca's final stop was the arrivals hall. 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:32.480 As soon as you walked through that door, there's somebody 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:36.040 there straight away to meet you, and obviously they know 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:39.680 that you've got seven cases, they know exactly who you are, 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:44.000 and they know what you look like. He then walked 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.119 with you to the cars. They took all the suitcases 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.160 and another car just had a driver in and that's 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:52.679 the one we got in, and then they basically just 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:54.040 said thank you. 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:01.359 That thank you was the last thing Francesca heard about 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:05.119 the money. Two women spent the next few days soaking 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:07.760 up the sun in a five star hotel and that 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:12.320 was it. Job done. Francaska pulled this stunt three times 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:16.200 in total, smuggling millions of pounds worth of criminal money 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.560 out of the UK, with a substantial part of that 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:30.800 link to cocaine. 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:35.520 So when I saw or realize the scope and depth 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:39.240 of the information on abdelayl Felassi's phones, that was a 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:41.840 real fall off your chair moment for me. I didn't 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:45.560 expect it. I've never seen that before. It took hours 0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:48.640 and hours and hours to go through it all. Yeah, 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:52.840 it was surprising, challenging yet really really good moment. 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:01.000 I'm in a small windowless room in a hotel Hefro Airport, 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:05.800 and I'm sitting Officer Ian trueby, a senior investigating officer 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:09.600 for the National Crime Agency. We're talking about the cash 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:14.520 smuggling operation run by the Sunshine and Lollipop's gang. Ian's 0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:17.200 telling me about the moment he and his team got 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:21.600 access to a phone belonging to Abdullah al Fhallase. That's 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:24.840 the person listed as the owner of Omnibus Gold Trading, 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:28.600 the company on the letter Francesca was given to hand 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:33.159 to officials in Dubai back to our Phallas's phone and 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:34.600 what Ian was seeing. 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:41.040 And I thought, this is a treasure trove. And it 0:21:41.200 --> 0:21:43.000 just got better and better, which only why I can 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:47.160 describe it. Everybody was pretty excited at that point because 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:50.040 I think we'd understood, we were probably getting an understanding 0:21:50.560 --> 0:21:55.040 that we probably hadn't seen before about how this actually worked. 0:21:55.440 --> 0:21:59.520 Ian is a thoughtful character and quite unassuming. You wouldn't 0:21:59.520 --> 0:22:02.120 think to me him, but he's the man who helped 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:05.919 bring down one of the biggest cash smuggling operations in 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:06.879 UK history. 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.240 It was my team that brought down the Sunshine and 0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:15.280 Lollipops money laundering group. This was a group of people 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:19.760 that were recruited to carry suitcases full of cash out 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:24.160 of the UK and take them to Dubai, a very fundamental, 0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:25.760 straightforward method of money laundering. 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:33.000 While straightforward, the group was undeniably sophisticated. As investigation continued, 0:22:33.480 --> 0:22:37.399 Ian was able to work out smuggling operation started in 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:42.600 November twenty nineteen, a few months before Francesca was recruited. 0:22:42.800 --> 0:22:46.680 In the summer of twenty twenty. In just over a year, 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:50.520 the cash mules were able to make eighty three separate trips. 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:55.199 For most of that time, things ran smoothly. It was 0:22:55.200 --> 0:22:55.760 like a business. 0:22:55.920 --> 0:22:59.080 They submitted their expense claims and then they were imbursed 0:22:59.160 --> 0:23:02.680 for their train fare, with their hotels and taxis, etc. 0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:06.679 So that is it in a nutshell. 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:11.919 But in October twenty twenty, the first crack in that 0:23:12.040 --> 0:23:15.399 shell appeared. One of the cash mules was stopped at 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:20.680 Heathrow Airport. Thirty year old recruitment consultant Tarba Handlon. 0:23:21.640 --> 0:23:23.440 By her own account. She was currently out of work 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:28.040 due to COVID, nothing to suggest that she was linked 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:30.119 to crime in any way, shape or form, had no 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:34.000 criminal record. She was asked some standard questions, do you 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:37.439 have any cash? She initially denied it. They decided to 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:40.600 call her suitcases up because something didn't quite hang right. 0:23:40.720 --> 0:23:42.920 You've got five cases, you're only going for a weekend. 0:23:43.160 --> 0:23:44.000 There's only two of you. 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:50.919 Inside one of Tarba Hanland's suitcases, officials found one point 0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:55.280 nine million pounds vacuum packed and hidden with coffee in 0:23:55.359 --> 0:23:57.760 an apparent attempt to ward off sniffer dogs. 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:02.679 On top Corra's phone there was a copy of a 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:06.359 letter from a company called omnive Escu Limited. Now that 0:24:06.520 --> 0:24:09.760 letter was used to provide, if you're like, some form 0:24:09.800 --> 0:24:12.720 of cover, primarily for the Dubai customs, because nothing ever 0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:16.880 got declared in the UK. And that signatory turtle letter 0:24:17.000 --> 0:24:18.399 is Abdullah al Faallesse. 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:26.720 There's that name again, Abdullah al Fallaci. Ian's team began 0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:30.439 an investigation and we're able to establish Al Fallassi was 0:24:30.440 --> 0:24:34.159 an Emorati national who spent his time between Dubai and 0:24:34.200 --> 0:24:38.080 the UK. His wife's family had a flat in Belgravia. 0:24:38.240 --> 0:24:42.960 In London's West End. After Tara Handlan was arrested, Ian's 0:24:42.960 --> 0:24:45.640 team kept a close eye on him. 0:24:46.200 --> 0:24:49.640 We were just very fortunate. And that's the only way 0:24:49.640 --> 0:24:52.119 I can put it that mister l Fallaci decided to 0:24:52.119 --> 0:24:55.199 come to the UK, because that's what really broke the 0:24:55.280 --> 0:24:58.359 case for us. His arrest and examination of the content 0:24:58.400 --> 0:25:01.600 of his phone just revealed the hoole modus operandi. 0:25:02.600 --> 0:25:04.200 So what did you see on the phone. 0:25:05.200 --> 0:25:10.639 There were many, many, many hundreds of WhatsApp threads, so 0:25:10.760 --> 0:25:14.680 it was him booking travel tickets, him receiving images of passports, 0:25:15.200 --> 0:25:18.320 fining details of the flights, when they traveled, who they 0:25:18.359 --> 0:25:20.240 traveled with, what luggage they'd taken. 0:25:21.000 --> 0:25:24.720 I mean, that's an extraordinary treasure trove for an investigator 0:25:24.920 --> 0:25:25.600 to have as. 0:25:25.560 --> 0:25:28.040 Yeah, incredibly rare. It was a bit of an oh 0:25:28.080 --> 0:25:30.440