A bricklayer has been jailed for two years after a police raid at his girlfriend’s flat uncovered more than £100k stashed in kitchen cupboards and the loft.
Abdul Rahman hid bundles of notes dotted throughout the Charles Road flat in Small Heath, including £94,000 in a make-up bag in the loft, £19,000 in a bin liner under the sink and another £3,000 in a bedside cabinet.
Police officers had raided the property on December 13 last year suspecting it was being used as a drugs den – but instead uncovered a money laundering operation amounting to £115,950.
As officers counted the cash they found more than £40k in brand new £50 notes with serial numbers in sequential order.
Rahman, aged 32, pleaded his innocence throughout saying the cash was legitimate earnings from selling three cars and from working as a builder.
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However, a jury at Birmingham Crown Court saw through his lies and found him guilty of money laundering. His girlfriend, also arrested during the raid, claimed no knowledge of his ill-gotten gains and was found not guilty.
PC Mark Bates, from the Birmingham Organised Crime Team, said: “The arrest came after a long standing investigation into drug dealing in the Birmingham area.
“We found a flat full of money and it was obvious from the way it was stored it was not earned through legitimate means.
“The money has now been confiscated under the proceeds of crime act and will be invested into community crime fighting initiatives.
“We are pleased with the sentencing and Rahman will now spend Christmas in jail.”
