0:00:02 > 0:00:04In the UK, most of us work hard
0:00:04 > 0:00:06and pay our taxes.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Tax is there to fund essential services.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Benefits should go to people who really are in need.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14You need a roof over your head and food in your tummy.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17And we generally agree that it's right
0:00:17 > 0:00:20that a proportion of what you earn should go into a pot
0:00:20 > 0:00:22that's there to help you should you need it.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26But that money doesn't always find its way to the right people.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Indirectly, they're cheating the people who pay into the system -
0:00:30 > 0:00:31the general public.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Ridiculous!
0:00:33 > 0:00:34It is a criminal offence.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38There are big changes taking place in the welfare system
0:00:38 > 0:00:40here in the UK.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42And now it's more important than ever
0:00:42 > 0:00:45that the right help gets to the right people.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48This is the world of Saints & Scroungers.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Coming up...the scroungers out to beat the system.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59A jeweller who was sourcing his gold at bargain-basement prices
0:00:59 > 0:01:02by smuggling it in
0:01:02 > 0:01:05and evading £7 million in VAT.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07He was travelling out with one bag
0:01:07 > 0:01:08and coming back with two.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14So we became suspicious that this was actually fitting in to typical smuggler behaviour.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And those in need of help -
0:01:17 > 0:01:19the strain takes its toll on a mother
0:01:19 > 0:01:22after 50 years of caring for her disabled daughter.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26I just wanted everything to go away.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29It...it was just...
0:01:29 > 0:01:31just horrible.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38The value of gold has risen exponentially over the last decade
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and some people have made a lot of money from it.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44But where you source your gold from
0:01:44 > 0:01:46can determine how much tax you pay.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49And there are people who like gold
0:01:49 > 0:01:51but don't like paying tax.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Meet 50-year-old Chaudry Ali
0:01:55 > 0:01:58who ran Diamond Jewellers Ltd of Southall -
0:01:58 > 0:02:01not to be confused with similar-sounding companies.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Southall, a suburb in West London,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07has a population of around 70,000
0:02:07 > 0:02:11and the HMRC was suspicious that there was smuggling taking place
0:02:11 > 0:02:13within the Asian jewellery market there.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15So at the end of 2007,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18they decided to look into the activity of a number of jewellers in the area
0:02:18 > 0:02:21to see what type of business they were doing.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Clare Merrills is a spokesperson for the HMRC.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Throughout the year and across the whole of the country,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29different exercises -
0:02:29 > 0:02:32look at particular trades in particular parts of the country
0:02:32 > 0:02:36that we think there's a high risk of there being some sort of tax fraud taking place.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And there was something about Diamond Jewellers Ltd
0:02:39 > 0:02:40that caught their eye.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45When we looked at the records, there was some suspicious types of transactions taking place.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48So we decided we would actually look a little bit deeper into his case.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53The file landed on the desk of HMRC's fraud investigators,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55who, due to the nature of their work,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57have asked to remain anonymous.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00We were liaising with customs officers based at the airport.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03They collate documentation
0:03:03 > 0:03:07which VAT-registered businesses have to lodge with them
0:03:07 > 0:03:12to be able to export their merchandise
0:03:12 > 0:03:14or indeed import their merchandise.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17What was unusual with Diamond Jewellers
0:03:17 > 0:03:21was that they were declaring a large amount of exports,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26so selling...it was primarily scrap gold
0:03:26 > 0:03:28or fine gold,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30selling it overseas.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35But what we weren't seeing was very many imports from the company.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38In fact, there were very, very few imports.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42The investigators had to find out where Diamond Jewellers Ltd
0:03:42 > 0:03:45were getting all this gold to export out of the country.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48They suspected it was being smuggled in illegally
0:03:48 > 0:03:51and sold on without declaring it or paying any VAT,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55therefore, not paying into the public purse like everyone else.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00We were looking at their books. But also, we were getting information from our colleagues at Heathrow,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03saying that there seemed to be an awful lot of travel.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07The problem with only looking at paperwork is you get a very limited
0:04:07 > 0:04:10view of things.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13And we really needed to see what was going on at the time.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15So it was decided that the only realistic way of doing that
0:04:15 > 0:04:17was to mount a surveillance operation.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22The team followed the comings and goings of Diamond Jewellers Ltd
0:04:22 > 0:04:24for two months.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Diamond Jewellers employed a couple of couriers,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30and they would primarily make trips to Dubai,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33but always via a stop in Germany,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35a transit stop,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37so the courier would travel from Heathrow,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40normally into Frankfurt Airport,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42and then on to Dubai,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44before coming back on the same route.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49There were flights direct to Dubai from Heathrow.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52During the surveillance, the investigators discovered
0:04:52 > 0:04:56that Chaudry Ali was also making frequent trips.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00His trips, however, differed from those of the courier,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04in that Chaudry Ali only seemed to travel to Frankfurt.
0:05:04 > 0:05:10And this seemed to take place in line with the couriers' travel.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15You know what? That's OK.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17People travel for work all the time.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Even I do.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20It's perfectly normal.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24But there was one thing that the HMRC spotted about this
0:05:24 > 0:05:26which wasn't.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Very often, he was travelling out with one bag.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30He'd be coming back with two.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32So we became suspicious
0:05:32 > 0:05:37that this was actually fitting in to typical smuggler behaviour.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40What you can see there is a distinctive brown bag
0:05:40 > 0:05:42on the case, and the case itself
0:05:42 > 0:05:44also has, which isn't so evident on that picture,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47also has some brown piping around it.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51This was the bag which Chaudry Ali took out.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55So, at that point, we're focusing on Mr Ali's bag
0:05:55 > 0:05:58which he's taken out to Frankfurt.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Again, you can see there, we just got a shot of him
0:06:01 > 0:06:03heading towards the gate.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06And this is the next day.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10We've got Mr Ali this time coming back into
0:06:10 > 0:06:11London Heathrow.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15You'll see him coming to shot in a minute,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17carrying different bags.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21If you remember before, we had, as my colleague said,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25a fairly distinctive black bag with a brown badge on it.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29You can see on this occasion, not only does he have more bags,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31he doesn't have that particular bag with him.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33And we'll see what happens to that bag.
0:06:33 > 0:06:39This next section is focused on the courier coming back on the same day.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Here we see the very same bag with the brown piping.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47And hopefully...there we are,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49the brown badge on it as well.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52This is the bag we saw Chaudry Ali leave
0:06:52 > 0:06:58the UK with, and it's now in the possession of the courier.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06The investigators suspected the bags Ali was bringing in to the country
0:07:06 > 0:07:08were full of gold.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11He's just checking his bag there,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13and if you see in a minute,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16it's a slight effort for him to actually
0:07:16 > 0:07:19put his bag in the back of the car - he has to put his knee underneath.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23They now believed Ali was switching bags with the courier
0:07:23 > 0:07:27and the investigators had a hunch as to where this was happening.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Well, Frankfurt is an airport that allows
0:07:31 > 0:07:35travellers, those coming inbound and those going outbound,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38to actually meet with one another.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Transit passengers...
0:07:42 > 0:07:45..can be in the same vicinity as those passengers
0:07:45 > 0:07:49travelling out of the airport itself.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55So it is a very useful airport for people wanting to smuggle.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02By swapping bags, he was breaking the link in the smuggling chain,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05a tactic which is often used by drug dealers,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and stops the authorities knowing
0:08:07 > 0:08:10where something has really come from.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13And because Ali was flying in from a European country,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15he was able to breeze through the Blue Channel,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19the exit for EU residents with nothing to declare, at UK Customs.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22If he was stopped, he could say he bought the gold in Germany
0:08:22 > 0:08:24and would be exempt of paying taxes.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29By avoiding paying any VAT on the gold,
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Ali would be able to sell it on
0:08:30 > 0:08:33at a lower price than his competitors,
0:08:33 > 0:08:34bagging a huge profit
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and at the same time cheating us all out of the money
0:08:37 > 0:08:40that should rightfully be going into the public purse.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43The team had to prove that Ali was swapping bags with the couriers
0:08:43 > 0:08:45at Frankfurt Airport.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And we'll find out later how they got on.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53For now, it's time to say farewell
0:08:53 > 0:08:56to the scroungers trying to fleece the system
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and hello to those we call our saints -
0:08:59 > 0:09:02people who do everything to make sure those in desperate need of help
0:09:02 > 0:09:05who are too proud or simply don't know how to help themselves
0:09:05 > 0:09:07still get what they deserve.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16The first couple of years of parenthood can be really testing
0:09:16 > 0:09:19as you wait for your child to develop enough to be able
0:09:19 > 0:09:21to tell you what they really want
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and make their first steps towards independence.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29So what happens when that development doesn't take place?
0:09:29 > 0:09:33That was the reality for Audrey and Roy Parr
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and their daughter Jane, now aged 53,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39who, following a difficult birth, was born with brain damage
0:09:39 > 0:09:41and needs constant care.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46When Jane was born, things went badly wrong.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49The lady in charge
0:09:49 > 0:09:51decided I wasn't in labour
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and gave me two sleeping tablets.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Audrey WAS in labour, and all she remembers
0:09:58 > 0:10:00is the nurse calling for a doctor
0:10:00 > 0:10:02because the baby's heart had stopped beating.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05After the birth, she spoke to the doctor.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09I said to him how upset I was
0:10:09 > 0:10:12that I hadn't heard my baby cry.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15And he just looked at me
0:10:15 > 0:10:17and he just said, "Audrey," he said,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20"when you start feeling them thoughts,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23"I want you to remember two things -
0:10:23 > 0:10:28"two more minutes and no baby.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31"Five more minutes and no Audrey."
0:10:32 > 0:10:35He said, "And that is how close it was."
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Unfortunately, the traumatic start
0:10:38 > 0:10:40was only the beginning for Audrey and Roy.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43I've come down to meet them to find out more.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47When did you first notice that Jane's progress and development
0:10:47 > 0:10:49wasn't as it should be?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Me...I noticed within
0:10:52 > 0:10:54six, seven months.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59Because I had had younger siblings
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and I had seen them grow up from being babies.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07And then, as she went that little bit older,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10there was no attempt to crawl.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14And certainly no attempt to walk.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18The couple did send Jane to an ordinary school,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20but she was disruptive and wasn't learning anything.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Then, aged seven, after seeking the help of a child psychologist,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Audrey and Roy were told
0:11:26 > 0:11:29that Jane had brain damage.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32When you actually see it written down on paper...
0:11:34 > 0:11:36..you've got to accept it.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38She was a very complex case,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42because part of her brain is normal,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45but part of her brain is not -
0:11:45 > 0:11:48the part that was damaged.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50And...
0:11:50 > 0:11:54that's when you would get the bad behaviour,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58because it was the good and the bad in her brain.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Jane was growing up in the '60s and '70s
0:12:02 > 0:12:04and back then there was a limited understanding
0:12:04 > 0:12:06of brain damage and its effects.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08There seemed to be no help available,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and Audrey and her husband felt completely isolated.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16There was no-one officially that you could go and talk to.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21Financially, there was no help whatsoever.
0:12:23 > 0:12:2640 years ago, there wouldn't have been the same support as there is now.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Many children born with severe learning difficulties
0:12:29 > 0:12:31would have been institutionalised.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Things have come on greatly from then.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39There wouldn't have been social care packages, certainly no such thing
0:12:39 > 0:12:43as direct payments to enable people to get their own support, personalised support.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47At various points in her childhood, Jane was awarded benefits
0:12:47 > 0:12:49that did help a little with the day-to-day expenses,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53but they weren't enough.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Audrey had been forced to give up her job as a shop assistant
0:12:56 > 0:12:58to become Jane's full-time carer,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01while Roy continued working as an office manager.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03And with only one salary coming in
0:13:03 > 0:13:05and occasional support from Jane's benefits,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08financially, things were hard.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Not only that,
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Jane was reaching her teens and was noticing how people were reacting to her.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Outside people...
0:13:17 > 0:13:21she got that she wouldn't go near them.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23She wouldn't recognise them.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26If they spoke to Jane,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Jane would just look at me.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30Jane wouldn't utter a word.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32As Jane reached adulthood,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36the stresses and strains of constantly caring for her were starting to show.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Audrey and Roy weren't getting any younger,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and when Audrey suffered a heart attack
0:13:40 > 0:13:42and Roy developed a heart condition,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46they became increasingly worried about Jane's future care.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50In 2003, they got in touch with a newly opened local charity,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52the St Helens Carers Trust,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56in the hope they could help them out with some day-to-day support.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58The things we did initially for Audrey
0:13:58 > 0:14:01was help her to get some aids within her home,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03such as a bath seat,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05to try and help her caring role.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08We also helped to advocate with other services
0:14:08 > 0:14:14and agencies, to help take that stress and strain off Audrey and her family's shoulders.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17The charity arranged for care workers to look after Jane
0:14:17 > 0:14:19for between six and eight hours a week.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21And it was a welcome break for Audrey.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25But over the years, the help just wasn't enough,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29and finally, 49 years of constant caring took its toll.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I'd had a nasty fall.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37I couldn't do quite as much as what I knew I should have been doing.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39And that started to bother me.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41And then I just felt
0:14:41 > 0:14:44I was just going downhill.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48In 2009, the situation came to a head.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51I had had a particularly bad night
0:14:51 > 0:14:53and I heard Roy come down the stairs
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and I walked across the dining room...
0:14:57 > 0:14:59..and I passed Roy...
0:14:59 > 0:15:03and I honestly wouldn't have known who he was if anybody had asked me.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05And I just said to him,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09in my mind, this person who was my husband...
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"That's it. I've had enough.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14"I'm switching off. I'm going."
0:15:14 > 0:15:16I just walked upstairs,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18got in our bed...
0:15:20 > 0:15:23And I just couldn't do anything but cry.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Audrey had hit rock bottom,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and the family was in need of help.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Having missed a routine appointment with a local support charity,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33they called to see if everything was OK
0:15:33 > 0:15:35and were quick to get involved when they heard
0:15:35 > 0:15:37exactly what had happened.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40I've come to meet Joanne Reagan from the charity
0:15:40 > 0:15:43to find out how bad Audrey's situation was.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49How did you first come into contact with Roy and Audrey and Jane?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Audrey was referred to myself and my team
0:15:53 > 0:15:55for help with benefits.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Audrey had been finding things difficult with her caring role.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Her health had been affected because of things she was doing with her caring role.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05She was starting to struggle.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09She'd had a fall, so Carer Support referred her to myself
0:16:09 > 0:16:11to look at health benefits for Audrey.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15But it was clear with Audrey she wasn't just suffering physically.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18She was struggling with the idea of her role
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and how it was going to carry on in the future.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22Oh, definitely,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25which is why we offer that ongoing emotional support
0:16:25 > 0:16:27as well as other things.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Audrey needed immediate support,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33so the Trust organised night carers for Jane
0:16:33 > 0:16:35to help ease the burden on Audrey.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38They also organised some much-needed counselling for Audrey
0:16:38 > 0:16:41and reflexology sessions to help her relax.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44The next stage was to find out if their financial situation
0:16:44 > 0:16:46could be improved.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Joanne did a complete reassessment of Audrey's benefits package
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and identified she was entitled to an extra £88 a week.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58This meant that instead of getting support from different carers
0:16:58 > 0:16:59for six or eight hours a week,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03they could afford to employ a carer full-time for Jane.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05The family chose Angela,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08who'd worked with them on and off for 14 years
0:17:08 > 0:17:10and was Jane's favourite carer.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12But the help didn't stop there.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Joanne also looked at household bills
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and noticed that the family had been overpaying on their Council Tax
0:17:18 > 0:17:20by around £50 a month
0:17:20 > 0:17:21for six years.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24It turned out they were entitled to a rebate
0:17:24 > 0:17:26of over £4,000 -
0:17:26 > 0:17:29money which Audrey and Roy put towards
0:17:29 > 0:17:32a well-deserved family holiday to Spain,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35the first they'd had in years.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Joanne is brilliant.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42The difference that that girl has made to us
0:17:42 > 0:17:44financially
0:17:44 > 0:17:47is unbelievable.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51They are such a lovely family, and to know that we've helped support them
0:17:51 > 0:17:54and helped them within the caring role
0:17:54 > 0:17:55and can continue to do that
0:17:55 > 0:17:58is just great job satisfaction for us.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01For you, Roy and Jane... Now, the next few years
0:18:01 > 0:18:03are going to be really tricky.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- And, you know, your situation is always changing anyway.- Yes.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09What difference does it make
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- the carers being here? - Because I know that they will be here
0:18:14 > 0:18:17to help me and back me up
0:18:17 > 0:18:19in any way that I need.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23And I think that gives you peace of mind
0:18:23 > 0:18:24for the future.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33It's time to head back to the world of the shameless scrounger.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Chaudry Ali, who ran Diamond Jewellers Ltd of Southall,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40was suspected by the HMRC of smuggling and selling on
0:18:40 > 0:18:42valuable Asian gold.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44By buying the gold in Dubai
0:18:44 > 0:18:46and collecting it from a courier in Germany,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Ali was potentially avoiding paying any VAT.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53This was money that should be going towards our schools, hospitals
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and other public services,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and there was possibly millions of pounds of it.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01HMRC investigators placed Ali under surveillance.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06We did see that he was leaving the premises, travelling to Heathrow.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08He was flying to Frankfurt,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11coming back from Frankfurt, sometimes with a different bag,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13sometimes with more than one bag he'd gone out with,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17so then we began to say, "Yes, this is what we think is happening
0:19:17 > 0:19:19"and it is actually happening."
0:19:19 > 0:19:22The investigators suspected a bag swap was happening
0:19:22 > 0:19:24at Frankfurt Airport.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Now they just had to prove it.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29We knew that on a particular day,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Chaudry Ali would be travelling out to Frankfurt
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and that one of the couriers
0:19:33 > 0:19:37had already travelled the day before.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39So what we asked the Germans to do
0:19:39 > 0:19:42was to evidence Mr Ali arriving
0:19:42 > 0:19:44at Frankfurt Airport.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48We asked the Germans to conduct surveillance on the courier
0:19:48 > 0:19:51that would be arriving from Dubai into Frankfurt Airport
0:19:51 > 0:19:56and Mr Ali meeting the courier at Frankfurt Airport,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00where we suspected a bag swap was going to take place.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02And, um...
0:20:02 > 0:20:05that's what happened. The German authorities
0:20:05 > 0:20:10carried out surveillance, and they both met in the lounge at Frankfurt Airport
0:20:10 > 0:20:14and exchanged bags, as we always suspected they had done.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18With Ali making his way through arrivals,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21wheeling a bag that had been in the courier's possession
0:20:21 > 0:20:22just a few hours earlier,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24all the investigators had to do
0:20:24 > 0:20:25was wait.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Mr Chaudry Ali was due to arrive at Heathrow
0:20:30 > 0:20:32on a certain flight,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36so our plan was to arrest him in the Blue Channel.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And that's what we did.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43What's on the table there is approximately 35 kilos
0:20:43 > 0:20:47of Asian-style gold jewellery.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50It's 22-carat gold jewellery.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Chaudry Ali was arrested at Heathrow Airport
0:20:54 > 0:20:57on the 27th of April 2008
0:20:57 > 0:21:02and this is what he had in his possession, in his hand luggage.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Hand luggage?!
0:21:05 > 0:21:08This haul weighs the same as a healthy eight-year-old boy.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11The investigators had some serious questions for Ali.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15They wanted to know why he was carrying such a huge amount of gold.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19He just had an A4 piece of paper that said he was
0:21:19 > 0:21:23a VAT-registered jewellery trader based in London,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25which he was.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28And he traded with EU-based traders.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32It was just a standard A4 document
0:21:32 > 0:21:35that anybody could have written up
0:21:35 > 0:21:36on their computer.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39When we arrested Mr Ali, he was quite surprised,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42but at the same time, I think he tried to
0:21:42 > 0:21:46give off a fairly kind of passive...
0:21:46 > 0:21:49He tried to be fairly cool about the whole situation,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52but I've no doubt in my mind that he was surprised, yeah.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54The document wasn't fooling anyone,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56and armed with the warrant,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59the investigators searched Chaudry Ali's home
0:21:59 > 0:22:01and the premises of Diamond Jewellers Ltd.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05When we carry out a search,
0:22:05 > 0:22:06it's not something that we do lightly.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08It's something that we know that we need to do
0:22:08 > 0:22:11so that we can actually get the evidence that we need
0:22:11 > 0:22:13to be able to make a case come together.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Very often, people will hide records in their property.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18They'll hide money in their property.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22You know, it's getting hold of the information we need,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25the evidence we need, to actually be able to pull the case together
0:22:25 > 0:22:27to get it before the courts.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30And the team certainly had plenty of evidence to wade through.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34The question was - would they be able to get all of it?
0:22:34 > 0:22:37He had in excess of six safes
0:22:37 > 0:22:41on the property. Again, not surprising, being a jeweller.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Some of which he was able to provide us with
0:22:45 > 0:22:48keys or the combinations for.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50But there were a couple of safes
0:22:50 > 0:22:55where he informed us were either broken or not used.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Of course, we didn't believe this,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02so we employed a locksmith to open the safes for us.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05And one particular safe
0:23:05 > 0:23:07was a very high-security safe
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and it took a great number of hours for a locksmith
0:23:11 > 0:23:13to actually break the combination
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and pick - what we describe as pick -
0:23:16 > 0:23:19the lock to finally open it.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21And when he did,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24we were pleased to find that that safe contained
0:23:24 > 0:23:27not only a quantity of gold jewellery,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31but a significant amount of cash in the safe as well.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36So the HMRC now had 35kg of gold
0:23:36 > 0:23:38that they seized from the airport.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42They had £150,000 that Ali had in cash
0:23:42 > 0:23:46and they had gold seized from his business premises
0:23:46 > 0:23:49worth £1.8 million.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51As you can imagine,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Ali now had some explaining to do.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Obviously, we were asking him
0:23:57 > 0:23:59where he obtained the gold.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01And he provided to us
0:24:01 > 0:24:04some documentation to support
0:24:04 > 0:24:06where this jewellery had come from.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08He suggested that
0:24:08 > 0:24:1111kg of the jewellery
0:24:11 > 0:24:15came from a company based in Germany.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17He also said that he received
0:24:17 > 0:24:21an additional 24kg of gold jewellery
0:24:21 > 0:24:24from a company based in Italy.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28He told us that this jewellery came to him
0:24:28 > 0:24:31whilst he was in the departure lounge.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34He further explained that this gold jewellery
0:24:34 > 0:24:37wasn't being bought by himself
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and he was purely bringing it over to the UK
0:24:40 > 0:24:44to exhibit on behalf of the Italian company.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Now, we obviously didn't believe these claims.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51When asked about the huge stash of gold
0:24:51 > 0:24:54uncovered in the safes at the jewellers,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Ali claimed he was simply storing it on behalf of other companies.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59But during their search,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03investigators discovered money was being transferred from Ali
0:25:03 > 0:25:06to one jeweller in India and another in Dubai.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11Not only had they found correspondence detailing sales between the three companies,
0:25:11 > 0:25:17the investigators believed that they explained the gold that was being sold on in the UK.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Ali was denying everything.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22But the team soon found something rather interesting -
0:25:22 > 0:25:25a folder which at first glance seemed like a mass of spreadsheets
0:25:25 > 0:25:29containing abbreviations, figures and dates.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31What we have here
0:25:31 > 0:25:33is a specific sheet, and as you can see,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37there's very little sense to be made out of this sheet.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Initially, the file was dismissed,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42but by cross-referencing the dates on the documents
0:25:42 > 0:25:44with flights that Ali and the couriers took,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46they were able to establish links.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Each person was named after a make of car
0:25:49 > 0:25:53and each of the jewellers was represented by a three-letter code.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The sheets also contained the weight for each gold order,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59represented as GNS or grains,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02and another code for the currency.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06So, for example, pounds sterling was represented as "malca".
0:26:06 > 0:26:08What was contained in the codes could account,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10could demonstrate
0:26:10 > 0:26:13the gold that was indeed being
0:26:13 > 0:26:15brought into the UK
0:26:15 > 0:26:18and the onward sales of those goods
0:26:18 > 0:26:19without VAT.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22With the codes cracked,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25the investigators were now able to go and meet Ali's suppliers
0:26:25 > 0:26:28to prove that he was buying it from outside the EU.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31We both travelled to India
0:26:31 > 0:26:34to take witness statements from these Indian jewellers.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37They established a link between all the historical trade
0:26:37 > 0:26:40between the Indian jewellers and Dubai.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45We also enquired about their knowledge
0:26:45 > 0:26:48of Mr Chaudry Ali, based in the UK,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50who controlled Diamond Jewellers.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Many of them had heard of Chaudry Ali
0:26:53 > 0:26:57and believed him to have knowledge of this trade.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00That further reinforced our belief
0:27:00 > 0:27:02that these sheets were in fact
0:27:02 > 0:27:07the result of the gold jewellery being bought back into the country
0:27:07 > 0:27:09by Chaudry Ali
0:27:09 > 0:27:10and subsequently sold off-record,
0:27:10 > 0:27:16with the VAT not being paid to the UK Exchequer for these onward sales.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Pulling all the information together,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21it was estimated that since the start of 2007,
0:27:21 > 0:27:27Chaudry Ali had evaded a staggering £7 million in VAT.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31It was time for Ali to pay for his crimes.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33And on the 12th of November 2012,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35he stood in front of a judge.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Despite the overwhelming evidence against him,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41he maintained his innocence throughout.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43The trial lasted a month.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46At the end of that trial, he was found guilty
0:27:46 > 0:27:49of cheating public revenue
0:27:49 > 0:27:53and he was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Which we thought was a good sentence for a fraud of that scale.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03It seems that in the end Ali's Midas touch deserted him.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06And for the next few years at least,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09the bars he'll be seeing the most of won't be gold.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11They'll be the ones on his cell.