A heroin dealer who lived "an extremely lavish lifestyle" using £300,000 of his laundered drug money has been handed another prison sentence.
Mahmood Hussain, 45, was caged for 13 years in 2019 for supplying over £6million of the class A drug, writes The Manchester Evening News.
Specialist officers then immediately began investigating the dealer's financial affairs.
The experts spent several months poring over his accounts without making any real headway.
They discovered that Hussain owned no houses and only made a tiny profit from his three car firms. He also had close to no money in his personal bank accounts.
Yet at his home address, officers discovered a large variety of designer clothes, handbags, shoes and jewellery worth thousands of pounds.
It was also unveiled that he had funded deposits, home improvements and mortgage payments on two houses that were in the names of family members.
These included a hot tub, walk-in wardrobe filled with designer gear and an illuminated stairway. A Volkswagen and a high-end Audi RS4, used by Hussain, were also registered in other names.
In all he laundered a total of £336,000 - all believed to have been gained through his drug dealing - Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Hussain, of Rochdale, was yesterday sentenced to two years in prison after admitting three counts of money laundering.
The sentence will run concurrently with his current jail term. Speaking after the case the woman who oversaw the investigation said his crimes were an insult to those living honest lives and struggling to make ends meet during the current cost of living crisis.
Detective Constable Louise Henry, from GMP’s Economic and Cyber Crime Section, said: “Hussain lived an extremely lavish life and lived in a renovated property that had clearly been modified thanks to the huge sums of cash he had through his career as a criminal drug dealer.
“This was a lengthy investigation that has taken two years to bring to the courts after months of meticulous scanning by the team who had to identify where the money was coming from and going to which can be an extremely complicated and long-winded task.
“We will continue to target those who cause the most harm in communities and investigate those who are living lavish lifestyles, funded by criminal means.
“With the current rising cost of living, targeting those who are living luxurious lifestyles funded by criminal means is especially important as those who don’t break the law are simply earning a living as best as they can.
“A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will be held in due course.”
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