An engineering student was caught carrying a suitcase with more than £250,000 in cash on a train at Manchester Piccadilly station. Yuming Dong was part of a 'Chinese underground banking scheme' among students at the University of Manchester.
The sophisticated operation, which detectives say involved 'large scale money laundering and deception', saw Dong use trains to transport more than half a million pounds of illegal cash from London to Manchester. Police officers found Dong with a suitcase full of cash after he turned himself in.
At Manchester Crown Court last Thursday (July 28), a judge sentenced the 21-year-old to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He had previously been found guilty of money laundering.
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Dong, who worked as a courier within the operation, travelled between London and Manchester on at least two occasions to transport more than £400,000 of illicit cash. The money was to be used as a cash pool.
On one occasion, on the evening of February 4, 2019, Dong texted British Transport Police to report a suspicious person carrying a large yellow suitcase on board a train.
When officers boarded the train, they found Dong 'behaving in an agitated way'. Almost £255,000 of cash was found in his suitcase.
The money was seized and Dong, of Woolton Hall, Fallowfield Campus, was arrested on suspicion of money laundering. A search of his home revealed a diary with mention of money laundering and used train tickets from previous visits to London to collect cash.
Analysis of the phone number Dong used to text police shed further light on the extent of his involvement in the criminal conspiracy.
A second University of Manchester student, Hong Qian Wang, performed the role of the banker in the scheme. Wang, now 26, pleaded guilty to money laundering at Manchester Crown Court in March 2021 and was jailed for two years.
Detective Inspector Granville Sellers, from BTP’s Major Serious and Organised Crime team, said: “This was a complex and painstaking investigation which uncovered a sophisticated criminal operation involving large scale money laundering and deception.
“The sum of money involved is simply staggering, but it’s very satisfying to know that over £250,000 of this will now be used as police funds – allowing us further investment in keeping the travelling public safe.
“Money laundering is not a victimless crime, the cash involved often originates from criminal activity such as drug dealing and exploitation. The lure of easy money may seem worth the risk; however the sentences handed out should act as a stern deterrent.”
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