NCA Busts Crime Group Led by NRI Neelen Balarajah & Rickinder Hare, After Two-Year Investigation
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| Neelen Balarajah |
Rickinder Hare |
Los Angeles/ July 17, 2024
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh
A two-year investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) has dismantled an organized crime group involved in laundering millions of criminal funds, distributing Class A and B drugs, and attempting to fraudulently obtain £1.5 million in government grants.
Rickinder Hare, 36, and Neelen Balarajah, 34, received combined sentences of 14 years and six months for money laundering and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, sentenced on 6 June and 15 July 2024, respectively.
On 19 January 2022, NCA officers observed Balarajah receiving a ‘Gucci’ embossed box from Hitesh Vadolia. When challenged, Balarajah tried to flee, using his car to evade arrest, necessitating officers to block him with an unmarked vehicle. The box contained over £20,000 in cash. Telecoms data analysis revealed Hare, from William Street, Knightsbridge, had organized the exchange. Hare was arrested on 20 July 2022.
A thorough search of Balarajah’s home in Pinner, Middlesex, uncovered a significant amount of cash, herbal cannabis, cocaine, and empty wrappings testing positive for cocaine traces. The investigation into Hare and Balarajah's activities led to the identification of other cash couriers and peripheral gang members, who are now under separate police investigations.
Surveillance indicated the gang used scrap metal dealers for money laundering. A courier was seen collecting bags, believed to contain cash, and visiting a scrap metal and corporate waste premises. It's suspected the cash paid criminals for stolen metal. Coordinated actions against the scrap metal dealer involved British Transport Police, HMRC, and the Environment Agency.
The group also tried to fraudulently secure government grants for waste removal from a commercial site they controlled. NCA investigations revealed they lacked the capacity to legally remove and dispose of the waste and intended to divert the funds to other criminal ventures.
So far, authorities have seized over £1.2 million in cash and £350,000 in assets, including a diamond-encrusted Rolex Daytona watch valued over £200,000.
Vadolia, the cash courier, faced multiple money laundering charges involving £270,000 but passed away before trial. Balarajah pleaded guilty on the first day of trial in February this year, with phone images confirming the empty wrappings found at his home had contained kilogram blocks of cocaine. On 12 February 2024, Hare was found guilty of money laundering after a week-long trial at St Albans Crown Court.
Hare was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and 400 hours of community service on 6 June. Balarajah was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison on 15 July 2024.
Jason Hulme, Senior Manager for the NCA’s International Corruption Unit, stated:
“This crime group had extensive criminal operations, profiting millions from drugs and money laundering. We’ve neutralized the threat they posed to the public and the public purse. Our investigation has also uncovered several individuals linked to the group, including politically
exposed persons overseas. We will continue our investigations to determine any further associations with their criminal activities.”
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