Telford man caught smuggling £700k in criminal cash stuffed in bags and suitcase at Dover port
A man who tried to smuggle £700,000 of criminal cash into Europe to apparently give to a charity supporting Ukrainian soldiers has been jailed.
Evgeniy Kamenshtik, from Telford, was stopped by border control at the Port of Dover in a black Audi, where it was discovered he had a suitcase and two holdalls stuffed with hundreds of thousands of pounds. Kamenshtik had also hidden cash behind plastic panels in the boot.
Canterbury Crown Court heard how the 35-year-old first told border guards he was travelling to mainland Europe to visit his sick grandmother and only had £60 on him when he was stopped on July 27 this year.
However, he later told them she was actually dead, and they decided to search his car. They found a black suitcase with 14 heat-sealed bags of cash totalling £210,000.
They also found a black holdall with nine packages of cash totalling £165,000, and a green holdall with £70,000 inside.
When officers discovered that money, Kamenshtik admitted there was more. He had hidden another £225,000 concealed in 29 heat-sealed packages in side panels of the boot.
Kamenshtik was arrested. He told police he was being paid between £3,000 and £5,000 to deliver the cash, and he believed it was for a charity for the war in Ukraine.
