Three members of premier European crime gang that made £600m in two years are jailed for smuggling dirty cash out of UK after police found £1m in safe house and £250,000 in car boot

  • Gang which spanned Europe was rounded up in a series of raids earlier this year
  • Police uncovered huge amounts of cash and jewellery bought with drugs money 
  • Four men were caught in Britain, one of whom was then deported to Lithuania
  • Three others went to court and have been jailed for a total of more than 12 years 

Three members of a Europe-drug and cigarette smuggling gang have been jailed after they were caught with more than £1million in cash.

Arturs Nespors, 30, Alexksej Rybnikov, 42, and Marius Stancikas, 40, were arrested when police swooped on a houses in Coventry and Manchester and found huge amounts of cash.

Police around Europe raided 40 other properties at the same time and rounded up other members of the gang, including the Lithuanian ringleader, who was picked up in Spain.

The gang's main activity was smuggling drugs and cigarettes into Britain. The cash made was then taken back to Poland, where it was laundered by buying up luxury properties and cars in Spain.

Arturs Nespors
Alexksej Rybnikov
Marius Stancikas

Gangsters Arturs Nespors, Alexksej Rybnikov and Marius Stancikas have all been jailed

The gang made a huge amount of cash from their crimes, with more than £1million found

The gang made a huge amount of cash from their crimes, with more than £1million found

Raids in Coventry and Manchester uncovered Sainsbury's Bags For Life stuff with £10 notes

Raids in Coventry and Manchester uncovered Sainsbury's Bags For Life stuff with £10 notes

The raids in Poland, Lithuania, Spain and Britain uncovered more than £7million (8million euros) in cash as well as gold bars, diamonds, jewellery and sports cars.

Authorities estimate the group have shuffled more than £600million in dirty money around the continent in the last three years.

Nespors and Rybnikov have now been sentenced to five years and three months each, while Stancikas got two years and three months.

Another Lithuanian man, Agnius Sindaras, 43, has been deported back to his home country.

A HMRC spokesman said today: 'HMRC led UK-based investigations into Nespors, Rybnikov and Stancikas, who were involved in moving millions of pounds of criminal money out of the UK.

'The money is believed to have derived from the sale of illicit tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.

'The trio used a house in Coventry as a hub for their criminal operation and smuggled large sums of cash out of the country hidden amongst clothes in shrink wrapped suitcases.'

Police raided this luxury property in Spain at the same time as officers around Europe moved in

Police raided this luxury property in Spain at the same time as officers around Europe moved in

This car was among a number of luxury vehicles found by police in Spain

This car was among a number of luxury vehicles found by police in Spain

 

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