A would-be KIM Kardashian was jailed for attempting to smuggle £ 5 million worth of suitcases into Heathrow Airport using cash.
Tara Hanlon, 30, was arrested with vacuum-wrapped wads of banknotes covered in coffee in her luggage last October while trying to board a flight to Dubai.
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Tara Hanlon, 30, was arrested while smuggling £ 5 million in cash-laden suitcases through Heathrow AirportPhoto credit: PA
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The young Brit bragged about the “perfect life” as a cash mulePhoto credit: Ben Lack
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One of the suitcase border troops working on Hanlon. were foundPhoto credit: PA
The Kardashian doppelganger was found in five separate suitcases at £ 1.94 million.
She was sentenced on Monday to two years and ten months in prison for her involvement in the smuggling ring.
Hanlon had already admitted to smuggling millions of pounds out of the country in July and August last year.
She made £ 3,000 for every trip she went, heard from Isleworth Crown Court.
CASH & CARRY
Hanlon was acting on behalf of Michelle Clerk, whom she had met four years earlier in Leeds but lived in Dubai.
The clerk told her to start a hairdressing company so an accountant could “clean up her money,” the court heard.
Messages found on Hanlon’s phone indicated she was talking about recruiting a man named Liam to the plan with Clerk.
She said, “I think Liam will definitely be ready for this.
“Everyone else I know has kids or big mouths. He doesn’t want to miss that much money. ”
Hanlon boasted in a message “3 big ones … with this wage and the next my debts disappear”.
Other messages suggested she was looking to recruit other couriers and described the job as “the perfect life, a few days in the sun and a few at home.”
At one point she sent a friend footage of her bragging about how much money she had spent on a glamorous vacation abroad.
CAUGHT IN ACTION
Regarding her arrest on October 3 last year, Prosecutor Nathan Resiah said, “She was stopped by a customs officer who spoke to her.
“She said it was a girls trip and she had five bags because she couldn’t decide what to wear.
“She was asked if she had cash and said, ‘No, none.’
“Your luggage contained large amounts of cash covered with coffee powder.”
Judge Karen Holt told Hanlon: “It’s not difficult when you have suitcases full of money, don’t pack anything and you’re flown to Dubai to see what’s going on.
“When you were stopped by customs officials, you said you had no cash.
“That was the start of a series of lies and the officer obviously did not accept what you said.
“You gave a very detailed testimony after your arrest, although much of it was wrong.”
The 30-year-old from Middleton, Leeds admitted to one case of conspiracy to remove criminal property, three cases of criminal property removal and one of attempting to remove criminal property.
Investigators from the National Crime Agency had said at the time that the cash-raising was “the largest such exposure to date at the border in 2020.”
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The court heard that Hanlon pulled more than £ 3 million out of the country last yearPhoto credit: PA
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Hanlon lives the high life with friendsPhoto credit: Ben Lack
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Hanlon’s grandmother said she wanted to look like Kim Kardashian (pictured)Photo credit: Instagram
NCA Chief Investigator Ian Truby said: “Hanlon has smuggled more than £ 3.5million in criminal cash out of the UK and was caught in the act with an additional £ 2million. This money undoubtedly came from organized crime.
“Tara Hanlon thought she was leading a jet-set lifestyle and is now serving a prison sentence instead.
“I hope your story is a warning to others who may consider doing the same.”
