EMMA RAUF TRIAL: Mum, two kids and nephew among five found guilty of carrying millions of pounds of criminal cash to Dubai, aided by a corrupt Emirates worker who used money to pay for boob job

A MOTHER her two children and nephew were among five people found guilty of carrying millions of pounds of criminal cash to Dubai, aided by a corrupt Emirates worker who helped waive their hefty excess baggage fees.

Heather Jeffrey, 58, children Sheldan Noel, 30, and Lamara Noel, 34, all from Bradford, and nephew Devanyl Graham, 26, from Dewsbury, took a number of flights to the UAE city between December 14 2017 and November 15 2019.

The cash was smuggled on flights from Manchester, Birmingham and Brussels airports.

The gang was assisted by Emma Rauf, 33, (above and top left from Facebook) who 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 the couriers who were smuggling huge amounts of used bank notes hidden in clothes in suitcases.

The money laundering arrangement worked by network members collecting cash from criminal groups around northern England including Manchester, Liverpool, Southport, Sheffield and Huddersfield.

Rauf, who changed her plea to guilty during the trial, used commissions she made from the crime to pay for a boob job, designer bags, shoes and luxury watches, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Rauf's brother Ben Royle, 31, (below) formerly of Wilmslow, and his friend Sheikh Jobe, 33, (below bottom) from Manchester, also pleaded guilty to money laundering for their roles in the smuggling in advance of the trial which began in March.

An alleged ringleader, who failed to attend for trial and cannot be named for legal reasons, is said to have recruited the couriers and paid for their trips.

Sophie Logan, 30, (above) from Dubai but formerly of Derby, who said she was the alleged ringleader's PA, was also convicted of the same offences of entering into a money laundering arrangement to remove the cash from the country, while knowing or suspecting that it was the proceeds of crime, at the court on Wednesday, June 4 2026.

She flew to and from Dubai 38 times over a two-year period, declared cash totalling £2.2 million on arrival in Dubai on 14 occasions.

The 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.

Bill Baker KC, prosecuting, 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.

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 alleged ringleader is now believed to be in Dubai with extradition proceedings underway, the court heard.

Two other people involved in the case also cannot be named due to a reporting restriction.

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 alleged ringleader 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.'

Mr Baker said Rauf, who became resident in Dubai after living in Wilmslow, Cheshire, was an integral part of the gang, by helping the bags get through check in and taking trips herself.

He 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 jury was shown videos (both above) 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.

Mr Baker 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.'

The alleged ringleader 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 alleged 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.

Mr Baker said: '(The alleged 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 alleged organiser) charged big time drug dealers a commission of 20 percent to launder their cash from selling drugs.

'This enabled (the alleged 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 alleged organiser arranged for a total of more than £1.6 million to be smuggled out of the UK to Dubai by Jeffrey (below).

On May 16 2018 at 9:40pm Sheldan Noel (above and with cash) 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 (above) 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 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.

The court heard the operation also brought major risks to Rauf and Royle's family after some of the money went missing while under her control, Mr Baker said.

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, who employed the alleged ringleader to smuggle his 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 (NCA CCTV above and below) in Manchester City Centre, the court heard.

Men also 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 alleged 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 7 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.

All five of the defendants on trial denied the offences.

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

Lamara, an NHS healthcare worker, (above) told the court she had been flying out property for the alleged ringleader, as he was moving there, and he paid for her flights as a result.

She said any cash she took was thought to be from a number of 'legitimate' business interests he had.

But, after a day of deliberation, the jury found all five of them guilty.

All eight of the defendants are due to be sentenced in October.

The NCA is trying to extradite the alleged ringleader from Dubai.

NCA branch commander Jon Hughes said: “This crime group smuggled cash from crime out of the UK on an industrial scale, to remove it from the scrutiny of law enforcement and launder it.

“Emma Rauf enabled many of these trips by exploiting her position as an airline employee to waive through suitcases stuffed with money to avoid detection by law enforcement.

“Cash is the lifeblood of organised crime groups. It fuels violence and insecurity around the world.

“Criminals are prepared to unleash violence to maintain control as the horrific shooting at Emma Rauf’s family home shows. This could have easily led to death or serious injury had someone been there, showing that Rauf and Royle recklessly placed their family in grave danger.

“Disrupting the supply of such illicit cash is a priority for the NCA and our partners.

“We will continue to target cash couriers and hit crime groups where it hurts – in the pocket – and those who hold roles or positions that facilitate serious and organised crime. We also work with other agencies to target the issue of insider threats at ports and airports.”

International money laundering networks use cash smuggling, cryptocurrencies, and banking systems to move billions of pounds of dirty money each year.

This cash can be derived from the drugs trade, fraud, other illegal commodities, and even associated with terrorism and conflicts around the world.

The NCA’s National Economic Crime Centre works with partners to make it harder for organised criminals in the UK to launder the proceeds of crime. It brings together experts from across UK law enforcement, regulatory agencies and the Government, targeting the money launderers who are relied on by crime groups. We aim to seize cash, arrest, and disrupt launderers, as well as working with government to make money laundering harder in the first place by closing gaps in the system and combating the methods used.