Premier League linked to drug and money-laundering gang caught in French police raid

Allegations: One of the British men arrested as part of a drugs and money-laundering gang bust has claimed the money came from professional football transfers in England

A vast drug and money-laundering operation run by British gangsters which may have links to Premier League football transfers has been smashed by police in France's Dordogne region.

Officers from both sides of the Channel raided a number of upmarket homes in two isolated villages favoured by British expatriates.

There they found drugs and thousands of pounds worth of used notes, along with luxury cars including Aston Martin DB9s and Mercedes SLKs.

There have been at least four arrests in connection with the enquiry, all of British nationals who claimed to have moved to France 'for the good life', said an investigating officer.

One claims he was regularly receiving cash payments for his work with UK-based football agents.

The enquiry began in May 2009 when one of the accused - named only as Stephen C - was arrested in a car travelling from Narbonne, on the south coast, to the city of Toulouse, in the south west.

Police found half-a-million pounds worth of used notes in a hidden compartment in the boot of his Mercedes, along with traces of cocaine.

The Englishman had been put under surveillance, and the police established that he had made at least 20 'suspicious' journeys delivering money around Europe.

Cocaine is thought to have been delivered from Spain, after arriving in boats from Africa, said police.

But there is also an allegation that some of the cash was linked to agents or other parties involved in the lucrative - and notoriously unregulated - trade in footballers.

'Dordogneshire': Police raided the gang in the Dordogne region of France, above, where they were living as British ex-pats who moved 'for a better life'

'He told us that all the money came from professional footballer transfers in England,' added the investigating officer.

'Those arrested say they had links with big names in the world of Premiership football.'

Stephen C was placed in custody under suspicion of laundering money associated with Britain's cocaine trade.

During many months of questioning he led detectives to the pretty villages of Augignac and Champniers-et-Reilhac, close to Perigueux, in the Dordogne.

All of those involved were blending in with the thousands of Britons who have set up homes in one of the most unspoiled regions of Europe - one which is frequently referred to as 'Dordogneshire' because of its popularity with what the French call 'Anglo Saxons'.

It was in Augignac, which has a population of just 850, that two suspects named as Mickael K and Sophie S were arrested on February 24th this year.

'They owned a villa estimated to be worth around 175,000 euros, and a second home in Charente, as well as agricultural land worth around 150,000 euros,' said another police source.

'They'd also invested in three plots of land in another part of the Dordogne,' he added.

Mark B, another local resident, is considered to be a 'mastermind' behind the operation, and was arrested during a visit to a London clinic on February 14th.

When police raided his parents' home at Champniers-et-Reilhac, which has a population of just 500, they found a sky blue DB7, and a Mercedes with a hidden compartment identical to the one found in the car in which Stephen C was arrested.

'The cars were typical of the kind of flash, luxury goods these suspects have been using,' said the police source. 'They had stacks of money and were regularly investing in land and luxury properties. They are also believed to have been investing in Cyprus'.

The officer said Mark B's parents had already offered £50,000 in cash to pay for their son's defence.

He added: 'All those arrested are being questing pending court appearances.'

The investigation is being coordinated by Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Toulouse judicial police.

Y_Shun

23 Mar 10, 11:07

i think hor EPL really is a good place to do money laundering.