Met Makes Its Largest Ever Cash Seizure in Fulham
Over £5million of drug dealers' proceeds found in flat on Britannia Road
Some of the cash pile was found hidden under a bed. Picture: Met Police
Police have made the largest single seizure of cash ever made in London after a major money laundering operation was discovered in a Fulham flat.
The money was discovered following a protracted operation into large scale drug supply and firearms offences across London.
During the operation, 46-year-old Sergejs Auzins, a large scale money launderer, was identified and observed taking large quantities of cash to the Porteus Apartments building on Britannia Road.
On Friday, 5 June 2020, 36-year-old Ruslan Shamsutdinov from Hackney was seen exiting the apartments struggling to carry heavy bags which he placed into a nearby parked car. Officers stopped him and the bags were found to contain a considerable amount of cash.
A search of the apartment uncovered further cash and a well organised money laundering system. The total amount of cash seized in total was £5,082,026.17.
A further 39,000 Euros and £8,038.81 was found at the home address of Shamsutdinov.
On Sunday, 14 July, Serwan Ahmadi was seen to hand a bag to another man who was arrested at the scene by officers. The case against this man was discontinued.
The Porteus Apartments on Britannia Road
Later that day, Ahmadi was seen leaving his homes address in Edmonton with another bag. He was stopped and arrested by officers in Victoria Road, Edmonton. The bag contained £59,980. A search of his address recovered a further £198,665. The following day, Sergejs Auzins was arrested at his home in Rochester and a further £14, 435.63 was seized.
Three men were sentenced on Friday, 28 May at Harrow Crown Court after pleading guilty last year to conspiracy to conceal/disguise/convert/transfer/remove criminal property.
The three men convicted after the Fulham cash seizure
Shamsutdinov, was sentenced to three years and nine months' imprisonment, Auzins of Windward Road, Rochester, was sentenced to three years and four months' imprisonment and Serwan Ahmadi of Pycroft Way, Edmonton was sentenced to one year and eight months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work.
Detective Superintendent Jason Prins, from the Specialist Crime Command, said, “As part of a long running operation against gun crime and large scale Class A drugs supply across London, over five million pounds in criminal cash was seized from an address in Fulham. This is the largest ever single cash seizure by the Met and I believe one of the largest ever nationally.
“Organised crime is motivated by money and is one of the biggest causes of violence on our streets. Tackling this violence is our main priority. This seizure, and the conviction of these men for laundering that money, will have a major impact on the ability of a number of crime groups to carry on with their activities.”
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May 29, 2021