Property developer and mortgage broker Paul Arabskyj from Wakefield has been jailed for six years for his role in a £13 million drug smuggling ring.
He was arrested after police discovered £116,000 in cash in the boot of his Rolls-Royce.
Arabskyjwas part of a 16-strong West Yorkshire gang that has been jailed for a total more than 40 years for importing £13m worth of drugs into the UK from India and China.
When police went to one of Arabskyj's homes at Hunters Lodge, Wooley, near Wakefield on September 20, 2011 he had a Bentley, Mercedes and Rolls Royce parked in the grounds.
They found £116,000 in cash in the boot of the Rolls-Royce, one note bearing the fingerprint of a known drug supplier.
Police are still hunting for the ringleader of the international drug smuggling ring John Halliday, who is thought to have left the country and could be in the Phillipines, according to the Telegraph & Argus.
Halliday was jailed for 10 years in his absence, having gone on the run just before he was due to stand trial.
He started selling legal highs before they were classified as illegal drugs in 2010 alongside his main business of body building supplements.
The drugs were imported from India and China, through Greece and Germany to the UK where a complex network of postal addresses was set up to receive the drugs.
The court heard that Arabskyj provided the financial backing for the sophisticated operation which involved smuggling hundreds of kilograms of drugs previously classed as legal highs.
He was jailed for six years after being found guilty of conspiracy to contravene the Customs and Excise Act.
Detective Inspector Neil Hollis, of West Yorkshire Police’s Crime Division, said: “The drugs importation would not have been able to take place on the scale that it did without the financial assistance of Arabskyj.
"These men were professionals in mortgage consultancy and accountancy and I hope that this case demonstrates that we will pursue those of all walks of life who are involved in money laundering offences.
“This organised crime group have profited significantly from the supply of illegal drugs and currently own a number of high-end vehicles and properties. We will be pursuing confiscation proceedings against these individuals and sending the message that crime does not pay.”
Property developer and mortgage broker Paul Arabskyj was said to have either invested or loaned money to Halliday to fund the purchase.
Once in the country, the onward supply of the drugs was arranged after Halliday’s runners had collected the parcels often labelled as metal corrosion inhibitor.
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