Snared by traffic, money laundering duo end up in jail

A money laundering duo failed to escape the grip of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers after they got stuck in a traffic jam. 

The two individuals have now been jailed for eight-and-a-half-years for laundering £5.9 million.  

According to the HMRC, Shazad Malik, 43, funneled money through his sham company, Sky Drinks Ltd, on behalf of organized criminals across London and Essex.

The laundering operation included Malik’s associate, Asher Frank, 40, who acted as a courier and collected cash from underworld associates and made deposits into bank accounts controlled by Malik.

HMRC officers had swooped down on Frank's car in Barking when he tried to flee the scene. However Frank found himself stuck in traffic and was apprehended with more than £70,000 in cash and a paying-in book in the name of Sky Drinks Ltd

In the days before his arrest, Frank was observed by HMRC visiting criminal associates and paying in £360,000 in cash at the ‘quick drop’ facilities of banks in Barking, Dagenham and Romford.

Frank was found guilty on 27 October 2016. Malik was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison and Frank to three years in prison by His Honour Judge Testar at the same court on 10 November 2016.