A member of a drugs gang who took £10m cash they made from selling cocaine to an exchange bureau to swap it for euros has been jailed for six years.

Abu Raja, 27, of Queenswood Avenue, Hounslow, set up a fake company as a front for changing the huge sums of money for 500 euro notes.

Raja and Jaspreet Gill, 27, submitted bogus details to Revenue and Customs to get a certificate of registration for money laundering regulation when they established two false businesses.

Nine members of the gang were jailed for more than 64 years at Kingston Crown Court.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Beyer, of the Metropolitan Police’s central task force, said: "This group of men went to great lengths to disguise their criminal activity.

"They set up false businesses to enable them to push millions of pounds through legitimate bureau de changes to pay for the drugs they were dealing.

"It is only through the efforts of officers from the central task force that these men have been removed from dealing any more drugs on the streets of London and the rest of the UK."

Police launched an investigation into the gang and discovered it was supplying large amounts of cocaine from three houses in north west London and laundering the profits at an exchange bureau. Detectives have since been unable to trace most of the cash.

Officers arrested two of the crooks in January last year and later closed the net on the other members, catching up with Raja on March 30.

They swooped on a house in Wembley the following day and discovered about 8kg of cocaine hidden underneath floorboards, two layers of carpet and a sofa. Police also found a cutting agent a large drugs press and about £100,000 cash.

They arrested brothers Elton and Behar Dika, who were directly linked to the drugs factories, in October last year.

Behind bars

Behar Dika, 35, of Cheyne Walk, Hendon, got 18 years imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering.

Elton Dika, 27, of no fixed address, got five years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Xhovan Gripshi, 31, of Priory Gardens, Wembley, got two years and nine months imprisonment after pleading guilty to allowing a premises to be used for the supply of class A drugs.

Fabiol Beqiri, 23, of Priory Gardens, Wembley, got two years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Abu Raja, 27, of Queenswood Avenue, Hounslow, got six years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Besnik Alla, 31, of Princes Parade, Golders Green Road, got six years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply a controlled class A drug.

Kanwaldeep Deol, 40, of Gordon Crescent, Hayes, got six years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply a controlled class A drug.

Jaspreet Gill, 27, of Gordon Crescent, Hayes, got nine years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled class A drugs and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Emiljan Shega, 19, of Priory Gardens, Wembley, got 10 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply a controlled class A drug.