'Party-loving' Kim Kardashian-lookalike executive, 30, is jailed for nearly three years for laundering £5m after she was stopped at Heathrow Airport with suitcases full of £1.9m cash on her way to Dubai

Recruitment consultant Tara Hanlon, 30, who worked for a recruitment firm in Leeds and underwent cosmetic surgery to try and look like her idol Kim Kardashian, has been jailed for nearly three years

A 'party-loving' Kim Kardashian-lookalike has been jailed for nearly three years over more than £5million worth of money-laundering offences after she was stopped at Heathrow Airport with five suitcases full of nearly £2million in cash on her way to Dubai.

Recruitment consultant Tara Hanlon, 30, who worked for a recruitment firm in Leeds and underwent cosmetic surgery to try and look like her idol Kim Kardashian, was held as she tried to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates city last October with more than £1.9million in cash. 

The find, vacuum packed in five suitcases and covered in ground coffee to hide the smell from sniffer dogs, was described at the time as the largest individual cash seizure at the border that year.

Party girl Hanlon, from Leeds, Yorkshire, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to remove criminal property from England and Wales between July 13 and October 4 last year, which has been left to lie on file.

But she admitted three counts of removing criminal property, relating to cash amounts of £1.4million on July 14, £1.1million on August 10 and £1million on August 31 last year. The defendant also pleaded guilty to attempting to remove £1.9million in criminal cash from the country on the day she was arrested.

Hanlon appeared at Isleworth Crown Court today, where she was jailed for two years and 10 months. Prosecutor Nathan Rasiah told the court that the charges related to three trips taken to Dubai last summer and one failed attempt in October.

The court heard that on October 3, 2020, the defendant was stopped at the airport by a customs official when travelling with a friend to Dubai. When asked about the purpose of the visit and her luggage, the defendant said she was going on a 'girls' trip' and that she had checked in the five suitcases because she 'wasn't sure what to wear' whilst there.

The defendant denied that she was travelling with cash on her person or in her luggage, but was subsequently taken into custody and arrested for money laundering after officials discovered the cash in the suitcases.

Hanlon appeared at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, where she was jailed for two years and 10 months

Undated handout photo issued by National Crime Agency of some of the money found in the possession of Hanlon when she was stopped at Heathrow Airport

The find, vacuum packed in five suitcases and covered in ground coffee to hide the smell from sniffer dogs, was described at the time as the largest individual cash seizure at the border that year 

more videos

Chinese influencer plunged 160ft to her death from crane cabin

Bernadette's mum 'gave her a day' before reporting her as missing

Helicopter scours Poole Harbour after teen goes missing in sea

Puppy howls after squeaking toy in cute video

Police and Community Officer Vikki Gill appears in documentary

Teenagers get suddenly stabbed in violent street brawl in Liverpool

Son of conspiracist Kate Shemirani slams her for putting lives at risk

Tokyo Olympics: Dustin Lance Black says Tom Daley is a 'warrior'

Sandstorm swallows Chinese city with 300 ft wall of sand

London: Woman is stabbed at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park

Models shed clothes for annual Bodypainting Day in NYC

White whales seen off the coast of Japan in shockingly rare sighting

In a prepared statement to investigators, Hanlon said that it was the first trip she had taken, that she was not being paid and believed it to be legal as the money would be declared in Dubai.

She claimed she had been asked to fly out to provide a hair service for a contact, who later turned out to be her recruiter, in return for free flights and accommodation, and that she had been handed the bags by a driver in London.

However, inquiries with the airline and a search of the defendant's phone by authorities revealed that she had made three previous visits in July and August as a courier, and had been paid around £3,000 for each trip.

After liaising with authorities in Dubai, the National Crime Agency discovered Hanlon had declared she was carrying more than a million pounds in cash upon arrival on each occasion, totalling £3.5million.

Mr Rasiah told the court that messages found on the defendant's phone to the woman who recruited her revealed Hanlon had a deeper role in the operation, as the two had discussed involving other couriers. 

Hanlon (pictured left and right), 30, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on October 3 when Border Force officials found £1.9m stuffed into five suitcases

Hanlon arrives at Isleworth Crown Court, west London, where she was jailed for two years and 10 months after pleading guilty to more than £5million worth of money laundering offences

The defendant had also celebrated the payment of 'three big ones' following the first trip, writing in a message to the woman: 'With this wage and the next my debts go bye. Time for TT to live her best life.'

Stephen Grattage, defending, claimed that Hanlon was vulnerable at the time of the offences following the sudden death of her mother in March and having been furloughed from her job shortly afterwards.

He said that as the money was being declared in Dubai and the recruiter had mentioned an accountant being involved in the payments, Hanlon believed the business could be legitimate. 

Hanlon is the 'party-loving' Kim Kardashian wannabe arrested at Heathrow

However, during sentencing, Judge Karen Holt told her: 'Although you were vulnerable at the time, I don't find that you have been exploited and find that you knew what you were doing.'

Ian Truby, NCA senior investigating officer, said following the hearing: 'Tara Hanlon thought that she was going to be living a jet-set lifestyle, instead she is now serving a prison sentence. I hope her story is a cautionary one for others who would consider doing the same. Stopping the flow of illicit cash is a priority for the NCA and our partners.'

Hanlon's arrest sparked an NCA probe targeting a number of other cash couriers suspected of being linked to the same money laundering network. 

Around a month after Hanlon was caught, Czech national Zdenek Kamaryt, 38, was held as he tried to board a flight from Heathrow to Dubai with £1.3million in cash in his bags. He was jailed for two years in March after pleading guilty to money laundering offences, according to the NCA.

Eight other people, arrested in a series of raids in May of this year at locations in London, Surrey, West Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester, were released under investigation while inquiries continue.

Hanlon's arrest stunned her grandmother who claimed she was a hard-working career woman who 'would never get involved in crime'. 

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline before her granddaughter admitted the crime, Maureen Downs, 80, said: 'I know my granddaughter and she would never do anything like what she is accused of. She has a heart of gold. She is a lovely girl and she had never, ever been in in trouble.'

Suggesting her 'naive' granddaughter may have been the victim of a set up, she added: 'I want to know if somebody switched her bags. I can't see her having the confidence to go through an airport like that.' 

Mrs Downs said Hanlon was devastated by the loss of her mother at the end of March last year, saying: 'My daughter died and we lost another relative to cancer. Tara was heartbroken. It has been a terrible year.'  

She added: 'I can't sleep and I hope I am going to wake up from this nightmare.' 

Her grandmother went on: 'Tara has never taken any drugs. She has always worked and when she was 14 she had a job at a golf club. She has always been working. She was into partying. She liked a bit of glamour did Tara.

'She wanted to look like that Kardashian woman and she had her lips done like her.'

She said Tara had last been in a relationship four years ago, but her family were shocked to hear of her arrest as they didn't even know she was flying to Dubai. 'This has knocked us completely out,' she said.