British-Indian couple convicted of exporting GBP57 mn cocaine to Australia

London, Jan 30: A British Indian couple has been convicted of exporting more than half a tonne of cocaine worth 57 million pounds to Australia after a probe found they were behind a company that sent the drugs by plane under a cover load of metal toolboxes.

Arti Dhir, 59, and Kavaljitsinh Raijada, 35, were convicted of 12 counts of exportation and 18 counts of money laundering by a jury following a trial at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

The married couple from Hanwell in the Ealing district of West London, who denied exporting cocaine to Australia and money laundering, will be sentenced at the same court today.

Dhir and Raijada were identified by National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators after the Australian Border Force intercepted the cocaine upon its arrival in Sydney in May 2021.

The drugs had been shipped via a commercial flight from the UK and consisted of six metal toolboxes which, when opened, were found to contain 514 kilos of cocaine.

Officers traced the consignment back to Dhir and Raijada, who had set up a front company called Viefly Freight Services with the sole purpose of smuggling drugs.

Both defendants had been directors of the company at different points since its incorporation in June 2015, the NCA said in a statement released on Monday.

Raijada's fingerprints were found on the plastic wrappings of the metal toolboxes containing the seized drugs, while receipts for the order of the toolboxes, worth 2855 pounds, were discovered at the couple’s home.

The NCA claimed that there had been 37 consignments sent to Australia since June 2019, of which 22 were dummy runs and 15 contained cocaine.

According to the crime agency, their knowledge of the airport freight procedures -- with both of them having worked for a flight services company at Heathrow -- was used to cover their criminal activities.

"Arti Dhir and Kavaljitsinh Raijada used their insider knowledge of the air freight industry to traffic cocaine worth tens of millions of pounds from the UK to Australia, where they knew they could maximise their revenue," Piers Phillips, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said.

"They kept their illicit profits in cash at their home and in storage units, as well as purchasing property, gold and silver in an attempt to hide their wealth. These defendants may have thought they were removed from the misery caused by the drugs trade but their greed was fuelling it," Phillips added.

Dhir and Raijada were arrested at their home in Hanwell on June 21, 2021.

A search of their premises led to 5000 pounds worth of gold-plated silver bars, 13,000 pounds inside the home and 60,000 pounds in cash in a safety deposit box.

Following further investigations, the pair were arrested again in February, 2023 and this time officers discovered almost three million pounds in cash hidden in boxes and suitcases at a storage unit in Hanwell, which Raijada had rented in his mother’s name.

Financial inquiries found they had also purchased a flat in Ealing for 800,000 pounds and a Land Rover for 62,000 pounds, despite declaring profits of only a few thousand pounds to HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs).

Investigations showed that both defendants held cash in bank accounts which far exceeded their declared income.

They had deposited almost 740,000 pounds in cash into 22 different bank accounts since 2019 and were further charged with money laundering.