More than £250k of dirty cash was found in the boot of a car on Princess Parkway - and another £1m at a safe house... three men have been jailed

An international crime gang which smuggled hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty cash out of the country has been smashed.

Armed officers discovered £251,000 stashed in a boot of a car on Princess Parkway in Manchester, while more than £1m in illicit cash was uncovered in a 'safe house' in Coventry after a series of coordinated raids were carried out across the continent.

Arturs Nespors, 30, and Alexksej Rybnikov, 42, both of no fixed address, and Marius Stancikas, 40, of Broad Street, Coventry, were part of an international organised crime gang involved in cigarette trafficking, drug smuggling and money laundering.

The trio were apprehended by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and West Midlands Police as part of a coordinated Europe-wide operation aimed at dismantling the crime network.

Armed officers swooped on a car occupied by Stancikas and another male, Agnius Sindaras, 43, of Lithuania, on Princess Road in May, and discovered the cash stashed in the boot.

Cash was discovered in shrink wrapped suitcases at a property in Coventry (HMRC)

Nespors and Rybnikov meanwhile, were snared later that day in Coventry, where police discovered large sums of cash hidden in shrink wrapped suitcases.

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Polish, Lithuanian, Estonian and Spanish authorities carried out simultaneous raids at other target addresses, resulting in a further 18 arrests across Europe. 

In total more than 40 properties were searched, which led to seizures of eight million Euros, diamonds, gold bars, jewellery and luxury vehicles.

A substantial quantity of illicit cigarettes and drugs were also recovered.

Marius Stancikas was arrested in Manchester, where armed officers discovered £251,000 in cash in the boot of a car (HMRC)

The gang is believed to have acquired an estimated 680 million Euros as a result of their criminal activities between 2017 and 2019.

HMRC led UK-based investigations into Nespors, Rybnikov and Stancikas, who were involved in moving millions of pounds of criminal money out of the UK.

Arturs Nespors has been jailed for more than five years for his role in the gang (HMRC)

The money is believed to have derived from the sale of illicit tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.

Nespors, Rybnikov and Stancikas admitted money laundering offences at Birmingham Crown Court in July, and were sentenced earlier today.

Alexksej Rybnikov was arrested in Coventry for his part in an international crime gang (HMRC)

Nespors and Rybnikov were both given five years and three months behind bars, while Stancikas was sentenced to two years and three months

Sindaras was deported from the UK to Lithuania in May following his arrest.