Insider Media Limited

Four West Midlands–based criminals who laundered more than £48m of other organised gangs' criminal profits have been jailed. The men, from Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham, ran an online busineses called R2PK.com.

The verdict followed an international investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Isleworth Crown Court heard Tanveer Hussain Jaffery, 61, and Naveed Ahmad, 45, both of Stoke-on-Trent, led the group behind R2PK.com. Coded text messages were sent by criminals based all over the UK and couriers were dispatched to collect hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash.

In sentencing, His Honour Judge Johnson told the court: "Jaffery was responsible for the transfer of £50m. He was the head of the organisation and used his co-defendants to protect himself. The money must have come from organised crime and almost definitely from drug trafficking."

Jaffery, of 10 Headingley Grove, Trentham, Stoke On Trent, was jailed for ten years, while Ahmed, of 12 Headingley Grove, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, was given a six-year sentence.

Mohammed Umer Farooq, 30, and Syed Yasir Abbas Shah, 29, were both convicted after taking on ‘courier’ roles within the criminal group. Both men, of 58 Foley Road, Birmingham, were jailed for four years.

Peter Millroy, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: "Money launderers such as these are as much a part of the criminal underworld as the fraudsters whose cash they clean. HMRC's dedicated teams of investigators will pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to disguise and hide the illegal profits of other criminals."

Confiscation proceedings are underway.