Tara Hanlon, 30, was stopped at the airport’s Terminal 2 at around 8pm on Saturday 3 October before attempting to board a flight to Dubai. Officers searched five suitcases and found cash totalling £1.9 million in sterling notes – the largest such detection at the border so far in 2020.
Hanlon was arrested, along with a 28-year-old woman from the Doncaster area, and the investigation was referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Chris Philp, Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts, said:
This is the largest individual cash seizure at the border so far in 2020 and I am delighted with the efforts of Border Force officers.
Preventing the export of undeclared cash from the UK is a vital step in clamping down on organised criminal gangs.
Miss Hanlon, of Pelham Court, Leeds, was later charged with money laundering and appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Monday, 5 October where she was remanded in custody until her next appearance at Isleworth Crown Court on 5 November.
The other woman arrested has been released under investigation.
