Hornsey man convicted of money laundering after police find £800k in shoe boxes and rucksacks
Elisian Belishaku, 32, from New River Avenue. Picture: Met Police - Credit: Archant
A Hornsey man has been convicted of money laundering after police found £800,000 cash stashed in his car inside shoe boxes and rucksacks.
Elisian Belishaku, 32, from New River Avenue, pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing and concealing criminal property at Harrow Crown Court on November 19.
On May 26, Met officers stopped Belishaku’s vehicle in a supermarket car park in Colney Hatch Lane near the junction of the North Circular Road.
The 32-year-old did not have a UK driving license or insurance for the car, which was last registered in Cumbria. Police found around £15,000 in cash in blue carrier bags on the backseat.
After searching Belishaku’s Hornsey home, police found keys for another car of his in an underground car park which had £800,000 hidden in shoe boxes and rucksacks
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The Met’s Detective Superintendent Gary Miles, from the economic crime unit, said: “The evidence compiled by the north west economic crime unit was so strong that Belishaku had no choice but to plead guilty.
“This is a great result involving officers from the Met’s operation Venice scorpion drivers, who use motorbikes and cars to stop criminals using powered two-wheelers, and progressed by the economic crime unit, who carry out specialist investigations into high-level economic crime cases in order to secure convictions and deprive criminals the proceeds of their crimes.
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“It also reiterates the importance of routine vehicle stops in protecting local communities from many types of criminality - often leading officers to uncover crimes more serious and complex than the initial reason for the stop.
The Met superintendent continued: “There is no justifiable reason for this much cash not to be kept in a bank account, unless it has been sourced from ill-gotten activities involving criminality.
“Our detectives work around the clock, alongside, and supported by officers from various other units, to tackle serious and organised crime.
“We will continue to work with them to arrest and prosecute those who believe they can get away with criminal behaviour in the capital.”
