Metin Teke and Tamer Dalgic jailed for money-laundering plot

Both Metin Teke and Tamer Dalgic admitted offences at Maidstone Crown Court

Two Turkish nationals have been jailed for laundering millions of pounds on behalf of organised criminals.

Metin Teke and Tamer Dalgic, both from Kent, were caught after an operation by the National Crime Agency and Met Police, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Teke, 51, who admitted transferring criminal property and evasion of excise duty, was given a total of seven years and eight months.

Dalgic, 52, who admitted similar charges, received 32 months.

He also admitted possessing false ID documents.

The pair were arrested after large amounts of cash were found at their homes following surveillance by the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP), investigators said.

The OCP said Teke, of Rainham, admitted having cash under his bed, while Dalgic had £11,000 and more than 72,000 cigarettes at his Gillingham home, as well as a forged Polish driving licence.

The pair were involved in laundering more than £5m of illicit cash, the court heard

Officers linked the pair to another £5.6m through phone evidence and ledgers recording "vast" cash transfers between June 2019 and March 2020, when they were arrested, investigators said.

The OCP said cash totalling £850,000 was handed over to three lorry drivers, who were jailed in 2020 for their part in the operation.

After the pair were sentenced, OCP operations manager Matt McMillan said: "These men believed they could transfer large sums of money under the radar. Little did they know we were watching."

He said money laundering fuelled serious and organised crime, adding: "We're determined to disrupt networks which provide this vital service to criminals."

Cash was found at both men's homes, the court heard