Midland gang jailed for £170 million VAT fraud

Mar 29 2009 by Mark Cowan, Sunday Mercury

The apparently legitimate cash was then sent via the bank to Dubai, where it would instantly disappear around the globe.

Customs officers believe some of the dirty cash was coming from drugs gangs north of the border.

It is known links exist between drugs gangs in the West Midlands and Scotland, particularly Aberdeen, and in one seizure officers found £200,000 including Scottish bank notes. The cash was so heavily contaminated with heroin and cannabis it had to be destroyed.

Investigators slowly amassed the damning evidence needed to bring down the gang as members were filmed meeting in places like Gatwick, Selfridges and the Marriott hotel.

It took one officer a solid month to view all of the surveillance footage and the wealth of paperwork they gathered filled a storage room from floor to ceiling.

When officers finally launched a series of raids in October 2005, they recovered tens of thousands of pounds, including huge sums hidden in safety deposit boxes in Birmingham.

Officers who searched a VW Golf parked near to Shergill’s Walsall home discovered £70,000 worth of Cartier watches, £8,000 cash and sheets of counterfeit stamps. They also found skimming machines and dozens of cloned credit cards.

“Shergill went from being a nobody in this investigation to a principal player who acted as a banker for the organisation by administering the cash deposit scheme,” added Mr Baker.

“In a very short time he was driving a Bentley and going to casinos to hang out and drink champagne.”

Bedesha, 47, who had based himself in Dubai to help move the cash, was arrested when he arrived back in the country while Micky was tracked down to his London flat he shared with his girlfriend.

Micky was the last to be sentenced for his part in the racket, and was jailed earlier this month.

Mr Baker added: “Micky was an educated, charming guy and had a lot about him. To see his face when he was convicted and see him go down was worth it.

“To get all eight convicted was a tremendous achievement and highlighted the exceptional work by my team.”

He added: “The amount of money they were taking was hugely significant to the public finances, it was taxpayers’ money being taken and used by playboys living an exceptional lifestyle.

“Taking the proceeds of crime from them is where it is going to hurt them. But that is the most important thing, it’s about returning the money to the public purse.”