Turkish lorry drivers caught trying to smuggle £1m out of the UK

Yusuf Yukel and Dursun Mehmet Keles have been charged with money laundering

The money was found in the refrigerated motor housing unit of two lorries. EPA

British police have charged two Turkish men with money laundering after they were found with more than £1 million (Dh4.83m) as they tried to leave the UK.

The National Crime Agency said the money was found in the refrigerated motor housing unit of two lorries at the port of Dover on Friday morning. Both men were working for the same company in Belgium.

The first vehicle was stopped by the border force at Dover’s eastern docks at 2.45am and about £830,000 (Dh4.01m) was discovered. At 11am, the second lorry was stopped and another £330,000 (Dh1.59m) was found.

The two men were named as Yusuf Yukel, 50, and Dursun Mehmet Keles, 49. They will appear at a local court on Monday.

Andrea Wilson, regional head of investigations at the National Crime Agency, said: “This was superb work by our Border Force colleagues. Money is the lifeblood of serious and organised crime.

“UK law enforcement has taken more than £1m off this organised crime group which they can no longer invest in further offending,” Ms Wilson said.

In June, a Turkish lorry driver was jailed for four and a half years after he was found to have smuggled roughly £12m (Dh57.97m) from organised crime groups in 45 trips via Dover.