Drugs boss gets £3.5million bill
JAILED CRIME KINGPIN ORDERED TO PAY BACK PROFITS OR FACE ANOTHER TEN YEARS INSIDE
A DRUGS kingpin who lived an extraordinary life of luxury funded by crime must pay back almost £3.5million of his ill-gotten gains. Aram Sheibani could face an extra decade in jail if he fails to pay back the huge sum.
Sheibani, 43, is currently serving a 37 year jail sentence after his international crime empire came crashing down. A huge investigation by Greater Manchester Police revealed that Sheibani had amassed a £5m property portfolio, stayed in luxury accommodation, travelled around the world and drove top of the range cars such as a Bentley and a Porsche.
Police also found that he had more than £1m in cash and £1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency. Sheibani, who lived in a luxury apartment in Bowdon, Trafford, had paid for cosmetic surgery including veneers, hair transplants and a nose job.
Sheibani claimed that his wealth came from legitimate sources, but a jury disagreed. A judge said he was satisfied that he was ‘at the very head of a large scale, international drugs conspiracy, and that Sheibani was ‘close to the very source of production in Colombia.’ He had made trips to the country, which police claimed were for research purposes.
Sheibani was found to have bought items connected with the production of cocaine, including two 30 tonne industrial presses, plastic vacuum packing bags and acetone, while a video of a similar industrial press being used in a cocaine production lab was discovered on his phone.
Sheibani was also convicted of mortgage fraud, by lying about his income and job to gain mortgages, as well as using forged documents. In June 2021, Sheibani was found guilty of five counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception; three offences of possession of criminal property; two offences of failing to comply with a notice; two offences of converting criminal property; two offences of fraud; forgery; using false instruments; conspiracy to supply controlled drugs; possession of a controlled drug of class A and perverting the course of justice. “Your greed knows no boundaries,” sentencing Judge Anthony Cross KC told Sheibani before sentencing him to 37 years in jail. A Proceeds of Crime hearing was held at Manchester Crown Court on Friday (April 12). A judge ordered Sheibani to pay back more than £3.4 million. If he fails to pay the sum within three months then Sheibani could have ten years added to his sentence.
After the hearing, Detective Superintendent Andy Buckthorpe, from GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “The criminal investigation into Sheibani and his illicit activity was incredibly complex, and enquiries led us overseas and into the digital world of cryptocurrency. The financial investigation which followed has been equally intricate, and I would like to thank each and every detective, financial investigator, volunteer, and staff member who has worked closely with the CPS to secure this result today.
“Sheibani was fuelled by greed and dishonesty, making vast profits from class A drugs and illicit means, ignorant to the damage and destruction this trade has to our communities. If Sheibani does not pay back £3,408,369.67 in the next three months, an additional ten years will be added to his already lengthy jail sentence. I hope this acts as a stark warning to those involved in criminality. Our investigations don’t end once you’re behind bars, our financial investigators will come for every penny you have gained at the expense of innocent people.
“The finances confiscated through this order can now be reinvested back into the local community who were so affected by Sheibani and his crimes, with the overall aim of making the community safer for local people and more hostile for criminals such as Sheibani to operate.”
Shebani was fuelled by greed and dishonesty, making vast profits from Class A drugs
Det Supt Andy
Buckthorpe