Tara Hanlon was found with cash in five suitcases, described at the time as the largest individual cash seizure at the border that year – the judge told her ‘it will be a prison sentence…bring a bag.
A woman has pleaded guilty to more than £5million worth of money laundering offences after she was stopped at Heathrow Airport with suitcases full of cash.
Tara Hanlon, 30, was held as she tried to board a flight to Dubai on October 3 2020 with more than £1.9 million in sterling notes.
The find, in five suitcases, was described at the time as the largest individual cash seizure at the border that year.Hanlon, of Pelham Court, Leeds, appeared at Isleworth Crown Court by video-link on Thursday, wearing a powder blue jacket over a white top.
She pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to remove criminal property from England and Wales between July 13 and October 4 last year.
But she admitted three counts of removing criminal property, relating to cash amounts of £1.4 million on July 14, £1.1 million on August 10 and £1million on August 31 last year.
Hanlon also pleaded guilty to attempting to remove £1.9 million in criminal cash from the country on the day she was arrested.
Prosecutor Nathan Rasiah said the charges related to three trips and one failed attempt in October.
Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh adjourned the case for sentencing on July 26 and granted Hanlon bail.
“Obviously, it will be a prison sentence. You must be ready for that – bring a bag,” the judge told her.