Leeds woman found with almost £2-million in cash in suitcase

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Officers searched five suitcases and found cash totalling £1.9 million in sterling notes. Credit: Border Force

A woman from Leeds has been charged with money laundering after almost £2 million in cash was seized by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport.

Tara Hanlon, 30, was stopped at the airport’s Terminal 2 at around 8pm on Saturday 3 October before attempting to board a flight to Dubai.

Officers searched five suitcases and found cash totalling £1.9 million in sterling notes, the largest such detection at the border so far in 2020.

Hanlon was arrested, along with a 28-year-old woman from the Doncaster area, and the investigation was referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Miss Hanlon, of Pelham Court, Leeds, was later charged with money laundering and appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Monday, 5 October where she was remanded in custody until her next appearance at Isleworth Crown Court on 5 November.

The other woman arrested has been released under investigation.