Gold worth £4 million being laundered by South American drug cartels seized at Heathrow

The gold had previously been shipped to the Caymans on a private jet which had arrived from Venezuela Credit: National Crime Agency

God bars worth £4 million being laundered by South American drug cartels has been seized at Heathrow Airport.

The shipment of gold, weighing 104 kilos, was discovered in June 2019 in the cargo section of a plane which had arrived from the Cayman Islands.

It was being transported to Switzerland via Heathrow, having earlier been shipped to the Caymans on a private jet which had arrived from Venezuela.

National Crime Agency officers worked closely with authorities in the Cayman Islands to prove a false paperwork trail had been created to hide the true origin of the gold as Venezuela, and that those involved in the organisation and physical movement of the gold had links to organised crime.

The gold was being transported from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland via Heathrow Credit: National Crime Agency

The NCA obtained a civil recovery order for more than 80% of the gold under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The remaining 20% will be returned to companies with a financial interest in the gold.

NCA Branch Commander Andy Noyes said: “Criminals are attracted to gold as a way of moving drugs money due to the high value contained in relatively small amounts.

“Our investigation showed this shipment was linked to drug cartels operating out of South America, but we were able to stop it from reaching its final destination thanks to established links with overseas partners.

“This intervention has disrupted the criminal network, stopping them from reinvesting in further criminality that causes harm to our communities.”

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