Shazad Jahan, from Bordesley Green, and Sajid Nawaz, from Kitts Green, were among a four-man network responsible for depositing vast sums of cash into multiple bank accounts before transferring the money elsewhere.
The men were uncovered following a lengthy and complex investigation by West Midlands Police, after their unusually frequent cash deposits at Post Offices in east Birmingham raised alarm.
Between 2021 and 2022, the group made more than ten visits a day to different Post Office branches, depositing up to £200,000 daily. Officers later established that the cash was part of a professionally organised laundering operation that moved approximately £17 million in just one year.
Jahan and Nawaz were arrested alongside Naveed Gul, from Peterborough, after detectives from the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands (ROCUWM) followed the money trail. The investigation involved close cooperation with the Post Office, high-street banks, the National Crime Agency, the National Economic Crime Centre, and the UK Financial Intelligence Unit.
During one arrest, Nawaz was found inside a Post Office carrying £15,000 in cash in a carrier bag, which he was about to deposit. Officers also discovered a further £85,000 in a cardboard box inside the vehicle he had arrived in.
Police seized a company bank card used in the laundering scheme, along with Nawaz’s mobile phone, which was open to a WhatsApp group titled “Action”. The chat contained instructions detailing which Post Office branches to visit and how much cash should be deposited at each location.
The three men admitted money laundering-related offences involving more than £3 million and were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, 23 January.
- Shazad Jahan (45), of Sommerville Road, Bordesley Green, was jailed for five years and five months for money laundering.
- Sajid Nawaz (59), of Clopton Road, Kitts Green, pleaded guilty to encouraging or assisting an offence under section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 and received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.
- Naveed Gul (47), of Western Avenue, Peterborough, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for money laundering.
Senior investigating officer Jonathan Jones, from ROCUWM, said the case demonstrated the determination of police to pursue economic crime.
“These sentences are the result of a lengthy and complex investigation, and they show that we do not give up,” he said. “We estimate that around **£17 million in cash was laundered in just one year, an extraordinary amount of money.”
