A British drug trafficker involved in exporting cocaine worth an estimated £700million to Australia with her husband has been ordered to repay just £808,000.
Arti Dhir, 61, and Kaval Raijada, 36, are serving 33-year prison sentences after being convicted in 2024 of trafficking up to seven tonnes of the Class A drug to Australia.
The case was described as one of the largest of its kind. The couple even created a ‘Breaking Bad’-style carwash as part of an operation to launder their criminal profits.
They also transported around £3million in boxes and suitcases between storage units across London, while seven gold-plated bullion bars were concealed inside a punchbag at their flat.
Their operation began to unravel after Australian authorities intercepted the cocaine and alerted the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Investigators discovered that the pair had established a bogus company and used commercial aircraft to move cocaine internationally, hiding the shipments inside metal toolboxes.
One shipment alone contained more than half a tonne of cocaine, with an estimated Australian street value of £57million.
The couple made £743,399,708.83 from their criminal enterprise, but Dhir – who is 25 years older than her husband – was ordered by Southwark Crown Court to repay only £808,627.81.
Arti Dhir, 59, exported cocaine worth an estimated £700million and avoided extradition to India with her husband over the alleged murders of two relatives. She has been ordered to repay just £808,000
Kaval Raijada, 35, received a 33-year prison sentence alongside his wife after the pair were convicted as major cocaine traffickers
Judge Usha Karu gave Dhir three months to pay the £808,627.81 confiscation order. If she fails to do so, she will face an additional seven years in prison.
Before their drug convictions, Dhir and Raijada had avoided extradition to India over allegations that they arranged the murders of their adopted son and his brother-in-law.
Prosecutors alleged that the couple organised the killing of 11-year-old Gopal Sejani in February 2017 in an attempt to collect a £150,000 insurance payout.
Gopal was abducted by two men on motorbikes, stabbed and abandoned beside a road in Gujarat.
His brother-in-law, Harsukh Kardani, was attacked when he tried to intervene. Both victims later died from their injuries in hospital.
Dhir and Raijada were arrested in the UK in June 2017 after India requested their extradition on charges including conspiracy to murder and kidnapping.
However, District Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected the extradition request at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in July 2019, citing human rights concerns.
India challenged the decision, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the case in February 2020.
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After receiving information from Australian investigators, NCA officers discovered a large quantity of ‘cash and bullion’ at the couple’s west London home.
Following a ten-week trial, they were convicted of 12 cocaine-exportation offences and 18 money-laundering offences committed between 2019 and 2021. Both were sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2024.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds were paid into several bank accounts, while £522,900 was used to purchase a property in west London.
Images showed the bleak London flat where the couple kept part of the fortune generated by their alleged £700million cocaine operation
The pair moved around £3million in cash inside boxes and suitcases stored at lock-up facilities across London
Judge Usha Karu ordered Dhir to pay £808,627.81 within three months or serve a further seven years in prison
Photographs taken during the investigation showed the unkempt flat used to store items linked to the criminal enterprise, including a worn red carpet, marked walls and deteriorating furniture.
Stacks of £50 notes worth thousands of pounds were photographed inside a bedside cabinet. Another image showed the seven bullion bars after officers seized them.
Additional photographs revealed boxes and suitcases packed into a London storage container.
Investigators also recovered £3million in cash and silver bars from a safety-deposit box.
Despite fighting extradition proceedings in the UK, Dhir and Raijada allegedly continued making arrangements to smuggle cocaine.
Raijada denied any role in the trafficking operation, claiming his wealthy father in India sent him money through Western Union, MoneyGram and courier services.
However, he said he ‘could not answer’ why he possessed a USB stick containing an invoice for aluminium shipping boxes matching those used to transport cocaine to Australia.
Dhir likewise denied involvement and maintained that her wealth came from legitimate business activities.
Both Raijada and Dhir were connected to Viefly Freight Services, the air-cargo company at the heart of the trafficking case.
Australia was selected as a destination because cocaine can command prices there up to three times higher than those on the UK market.
The court has yet to issue a confiscation order against Raijada under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
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