Jobless man caught counting £55,000 of laundered cash at Leeds flat after bag of money hurled from upstairs window

Officers from HMRC stormed the flat on Fillingfir Drive in West Park on the evening of June 29, 2020.

Inside they found two men sorting huge bundles of cash with the help of an electronic money counter. The officers forced entry after the plastic bag of cash was thrown from an upstairs window.

They also found a secret compartment behind a wardrobe in the flat which contained tens of thousands of cigarettes and rolling tobacco, prosecutor Austin Newman told Leeds Crown Court.

Siros Elyasy Majid admitted entering into or being concerned in money laundering, but only weeks before his trial.

The 34-year-old had been taken into custody, along with his co-accused Anwar Saeedi, from Morley, who was sentenced during a previous court hearing. A third man, found in bed in the flat, was arrested but later released without charge.

During his interview at Elland Road Police Station, Majid said he was in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) and lived in a Leeds Housing Association property, but declined to answer any further questions.

Majid, of Belle Vue Road in Leeds, has no previous convictions. He eventually entered his plea on the basis that the money and tobacco was not his and he was only assisting in bundling up the cash, which was accepted by the Crown.

Little mitigation was offered on his behalf by his barrister, Anastasis Tasou, after Judge Andrew Stubbs KC said he would not be sending him to jail.

However, Judge Stubbs said Majid must sign a document declaring that the money and the tobacco were not his, to prevent him laying claim to them at a later date, to which the defendant agreed.

Judge Stubbs told him: “You were keeping company with a serious and successful criminal, who generate lots of money.

"You were assisting with counting that money, bundling it up and packaging it up for onward transport.

"Initially you pleaded not guilty but a month before your trial you changed you plea.

"There has been no further offending and you have not been convicted of anything in the past.”

He gave him a 12-month community order and 180 hours of unpaid work.