A Hounslow man has been convicted as the ringleader of a gang that laundered over £42 million and people smuggling after an investigation from the National Crime Agency. 

Charan Singh, 44, from Hounslow was one of 16 people who have been convicted after an investigation by the NCA found them to have smuggled over £42 million. 

The group smuggled the money out of the UK into Dubai and the UAE between 2017 and 2019, with investigators believing that the money was profit from the sale of Class A drugs and organised immigration crime. 

Around £1.5 million was seized from couriers leaving the UK but flight analysis, evidence from cash declarations in Dubai, and other material seized by the NCA showed the group had succeeded in transporting far more. 

Following weeks of surveillance, communication, and flight analysis, in November 2019 a series of early morning raids across West London saw members of the group arrested, including Singh. 

Those charged were prosecuted at two trials in Croydon Crown Court beginning in January 2023, with the first trial seeing six people found guilty of money laundering offences and two defendants convicted for facilitating illegal immigration along with a third individual. 

Midway through the second trial six defendants changed their plea to guilty in relation to money laundering offences, meaning that reporting restrictions on the case were lifted on Friday 5th May. 

All 16 convicted are due to be sentenced in a hearing starting 11 September 2023, including two individuals who entered guilty pleas for money laundering offences prior to the two trials. 

NCA senior investigating officer Chris Hill said: "This has been a long and complex investigation into an organised crime group involved in money laundering on a commercial scale and organised immigration crime. 

"Over a two-year period, working together with partners in the UK and abroad, NCA investigators were able to uncover the evidence to secure these convictions. 

"This case demonstrates the continued commitment by the NCA to protect the public and target the criminal networks involved in both people smuggling and money laundering. 

"We will continue to use the full range of tactics at our disposal to disrupt and dismantle them." 

Investigators were able to prove that Singh, who was formerly resident in the UAE, paid for flights to Dubai for other members of the network so they could carry cash. 

He also kept a ledger showing how much had been transported and when. It showed that at least 58 trips to Dubai were made by Singh and his couriers during 2017 alone.