Emirates check-in girl Emma Rauf 'helped crime gang smuggle millions of pounds of cash to Dubai in suitcases from Manchester Airport to fund luxury purchases and boob job'

AN Emirates worker splashed cash on designer bags, shoes and luxury watches and had a boob job paid for while helping a crime gang smuggle millions of pounds of cash through Manchester Airport to Dubai, a court heard.

Emma Rauf, 33, (above left) is alleged to have abused her position at the airline's check-in desk at Manchester Airport to waive hundreds of pounds of excess baggage fees of up to £800 for couriers who were smuggling huge amounts of used bank notes hidden in clothes in suitcases to the UAE city.

Bolton Crown Court heard the couriers moved a total of between £14 million and £30 million from the UK to Dubai via a series of flights, taking up to five suitcases at a time, over nearly two years from December 2017.

The jury was shown videos allegedly sent by Rauf to relatives showing off a Louis Vuitton handbag, Valentino shoes and a diamond ring and Rolex watch inside a Bentley.

They also heard messages that showed Rauf allegedly had cosmetic breast surgery paid for due to her role in the crime.

Bill Baker KC, prosecuting, said she was prepared to risk her job at the airline to "enjoy the lifestyle" that was brought by commissions on the laundered cash.

He said: "The lure of designer goods and expensive watches was no doubt her motivation for involving herself in very serious organised crime."

But, the court heard the operation also brought major risks to her family after some of the money went missing while under her control, Mr Baker said.

Rauf's brother Ben Royle, 31, (above with his girlfriend) formerly of Wilmslow, and his friend Sheikh Jobe, 33, from Manchester, earlier pleaded guilty to money laundering for their roles in the smuggling and are due to be sentenced after the trial.

The court heard that Ben Royle's partner, who is not implicated in the offending, was left terrified after three men in ski masks tried to break into his Manchester flat while she was alone in it after he stored £500,000 in cash there,

Rauf's parents' home was later shot at after she left £406,500, she and Ben Royle earlier collected from criminals, in the boot of her car on the drive overnight and it was stolen after someone broke into it.

Mr Baker said the criminal owner of the missing cash said whoever took it would get a "bullet through the head" and ordered Rauf and her brother to take lie detector tests.

After Rauf refused, several bullets were later fired through the front door and lounge window of the family home in Hale.

She was later seen taking full bags to a safety deposit box in Manchester City Centre, the court heard.

Mr Baker said the couriers failed to declare any of the cash at Manchester and Birmingham airports, despite a legal requirement to do so for sums of over 10,000 Euros.

Some of the sums, which varied from about £100,000 to £667,949 were declared upon arrival in Dubai where there are no checks as to the origins of the money, before it was paid into local bank accounts to launder the cash.

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Mr Baker told the court that the total amount of declarations made to Dubai customs by the couriers was just under £14 million over more than 135 return flights.

He said: "In fact they probably took out up to £30m as just over half was not declared and on non declared flights, they still took suitcases and phone messages showed there was money but some of it was not declared."

The main organiser of the ring, a man who cannot be named for legal reasons, is now believed to be in Dubai after he failed to attend for the trial, the court heard.

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The money involved came from major organised criminals involved in drug supply in the north of England and the smuggling placed the couriers involved, made up of graduates and young professionals, at risk of serious reprisals if any went missing.  

The man made 30 return trips to Dubai himself before recruiting others, the court heard.

Mr Baker said: "This enabled (him) to live in Dubai in some style. He was described in messages you will see as living in a penthouse. He employed a Russian security expert to keep him and his communications safe from the authorities. He paid for himself and his couriers to eat in expensive restaurants and go to clubs in Dubai."

Rauf, who became resident in Dubai after living in Wilmslow, Cheshire, is charged alongside five others with one count each of entering into a money laundering arrangement to remove the cash from the country between December 14 2017 and November 15 2019, while knowing or suspecting that it was the proceeds of crime.

Others on trial, for allegedly flying out some of the cash, are Sophie Logan, 30, from Dubai but formerly of Derby, Devanyl Graham, 26, from Dewsbury, plus Heather Jeffrey, 58, and her children Sheldan Noel, 30, and Lamara Noel, 34, all from Bradford.

Mr Baker said: "When (Rauf) was working on the check-in desk for flights to Dubai, she checked in her co-defendants without requiring them to pay for their excess baggage.

"When she was not working on the check-in desk, she asked her colleagues who were working, to check in her co-defendants without paying for their excess baggage."

On May 27 2018 she checked in one courier with bags weighing 160kg, but recorded them as just 46kg to avoid excess fees, the court heard.

The weight of the items was later queried by Emirates staff in Dubai with Rauf interviewed by her management, but they accepted her explanation the bags were light as they contained sunglasses.

The court heard that she also flew to and from Dubai eight times over a period of just five months, but had never declared any cash upon arrival.

The organiser recruited people to smuggle the cash, who were often flown out in business class, due to the high amounts of money being made, the court heard.

The organiser paid each courier's wages and flights and for accommodation and visits to restaurants and nightclubs, while they were there for one or two days, the court heard.

He said: "(The organiser arranged) the defendants to pick up huge sums of cash generated by crime in this country and smuggle it to Dubai. They smuggled the cash to Dubai hidden in clothes in suitcases they carried onto commercial flights.

"None of the cash was declared to the authorities in this country on leaving as the law required it to be. On arrival in Dubai some of the cash was declared to the authorities, as they carried out no investigation of where it had come from.

"The cash was then paid into the banking system in Dubai so that it could be transferred anywhere in the world its criminal owners wanted it.

Mr Baker said: "Messages found on Ben Royle's mobile phone show (the organiser) charged big time drug dealers a commission of 20 percent to launder their cash from selling drugs.

"This enabled (the organiser) to live in Dubai in some style. He was described in messages you will see as living in a penthouse. He employed a Russian security expert to keep him and his communications safe from the authorities. He drove a Bentley. He paid for himself and his couriers to eat in expensive restaurants and go to clubs in Dubai."

Trips lasted one to two days and the restaurants included Salt Bay that served steaks with gold leaf on them, the court heard.

In one 24-hour period the organiser arranged for a total of more than £1.6 million to be smuggled out of the UK to Dubai by Jeffrey (above), Sheldan Noel and Graham.

On May 16 2018 at 9:40pm Sheldan Noel flew from Birmingham to Dubai and declared £667,949 cash on arrival in Dubai.

He flew back from Dubai at 3am, returning to Manchester at 7am and was only in the UK for 14 hours before flying back to Dubai from Birmingham.

The operation began to unravel after some of the cash was discovered and seized before it left the country and arrests began to be made.

A total of £788,455 in cash was seized at UK Airports, prompting a major probe by the National Crime Agency.

On May 30 2018 Graham left one of five bags he had containing £69,980 behind at check-in.

Jeffrey went to the airport the next day to try to retrieve it and was made to open the combination lock by a Border Force officer who saw the cash which was seized.

Graham made a further six trips to Dubai and made cash declarations that totalled £741,196, but he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering at Manchester Airport on June 8 2018.

NCA investigators discovered Graham flew to and from Dubai or Abu Dhabi 18 times, declaring cash totalling £3.1 million on 11 occasions, with flights costing £9,872.09.

He told NCA investigators following his arrest he was travelling as part of Bitcoin investments.

But, the court heard that he had not declared legitimate income from selling Bitcoin or any other source and he had not paid tax or received any benefits.

Sheldan Noel (above) was next to be arrested after sniffer dogs detected cash in his three bags at Birmingham Airport before he was pulled off the plane and his phone was seized.

A total of £412,435 cash was found across the three bags and none had been declared.

He gave no comment in the interview.

Investigations found he took 40 flights to and from Dubai, declaring cash that totalled £4.9 million over 14 occasions, at a flight cost of £13,767, but had no declared income or benefits.

Investigators discovered a Whatsapp group called "Keep Moving" in which some of the couriers discussed the flights and ordering up to five bottles of Dom Perignon Champagne at a time.

On October 1 2018 Jobe was arrested at Manchester Airport trying to fly to Dubai with two suitcases containing £306,040 concealed in clothing.

After his arrest Rauf tried to find out from colleagues why he was caught, the court heard.

Just six days later the men tried to break into Royle's flat, but were unable to.

The receptionist of the flats called police who attended the property, but they did not search it and find the money.

Rauf and Royle, who was carrying a baseball bat, went there an hour later and moved the money to their parents' home, the court heard.

Later the same month Rauf left a different cash amount on the drive of her parents before it was stolen.

On October 26 the gun shots were fired into her parent’s home by a gunman on a motorbike at about 9:30pm before a taxi driver called 999

On November 16 2018 Rauf was arrested on suspicion of money laundering. She claimed to have no idea there was cash in any of the bags.

The court heard Logan flew between Dubai and the UK 38 times over two years, declaring cash on arrival in Dubai on 14 occasions, that totalled £2.2 million.

After her arrest she said she thought the organiser was a legitimate businessman and she was just his PA and not involved in money laundering.

Lamara Noel flew to and from Dubai ten times over a period of seven months. There are no records of her declaring any money but phone message evidence suggested she did, Mr Baker said.

Jeffrey flew to and from Dubai or Abu Dhabi ten times over four months, declaring a total of £1.7 million over five of the trips.

Both Jeffrey and Lamara told investigators after their arrests they thought any money they moved was from legitimate business sources.

The trial continues.