A gunman opened fire on a family home in Hale as part of a criminal reprisal connected to one of the UK's largest cash smuggling operations – a scheme that moved nearly £30 million in criminal proceeds out of Britain hidden in suitcases.
Bullets penetrated the front door of the unidentified property and several more passed through the living room window, with one round lodging in the wall after passing through the sofa. The family were not home at the time of the incident in October 2018.
The attack followed the theft of £406,500 in criminal cash from the boot of a car belonging to Emma Rauf, which was left parked on her parents' driveway. The money's owner had threatened to kill anyone found responsible for taking it.
A National Crime Agency investigation revealed that Rauf, 34, and her brother Ben Royle, 32 - both from Wilmslow - were part of an organised network that collected criminal cash from crime groups across northern England, including in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Huddersfield, before flying it out to Dubai on Emirates flights departing from Manchester, Birmingham and Brussels airports.
Rauf worked as a check-in attendant at Manchester Airport and abused her position to wave through overweight suitcases stuffed with hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash, helping couriers avoid detection by Border Force.
When not on shift, she instructed colleagues to do the same. She flew to the UAE herself seven times over seven months, falsely reporting sick to her employer.
The wider network included the pair's relatives and associates. The alleged organiser - a British Dubai-based figure awaiting extradition who cannot be named for legal reasons - used WhatsApp to direct couriers, who were put up in expensive Dubai hotels and taken to nightclubs and beach clubs at the network's expense.
Among those convicted following a 12-week trial at Bolton Crown Court last week were Devanyl Graham, 26, from Dewsbury, who flew to Dubai 18 times declaring £3.1 million in cash on arrival, and Heather Jeffrey, 58, from Bradford - the alleged organiser's aunt - who smuggled out at least £4 million alongside her son and daughter.
The plan began to unravel after £788,455 in cash was seized at UK airports in two separate incidents, prompting the NCA investigation.
Rauf changed her plea to guilty in March this year. Royle pleaded guilty before the trial. Both are due to be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on 1 October, alongside five other members of the network.
NCA branch commander Jon Hughes said: "This crime group smuggled cash from crime out of the UK on an industrial scale, to remove it from the scrutiny of law enforcement and launder it.
“Emma Rauf enabled many of these trips by exploiting her position as an airline employee to waive through suitcases stuffed with money to avoid detection by law enforcement.
“Cash is the lifeblood of organised crime groups. It fuels violence and insecurity around the world.
“Criminals are prepared to unleash violence to maintain control as the horrific shooting at Emma Rauf’s family home shows. This could have easily led to death or serious injury had someone been there, showing that Rauf and Royle recklessly placed their family in grave danger."
