THE leader of a gang behind a £9m gold smuggling plot will have to repay £4.3m of his criminal profits within four months or serve an extra ten years in prison.

Chaudry Ali, formerly of Copperfield Avenue, Hillingdon, was found guilty and jailed for nine years in 2012 for spearheading the fraud, after an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.

Kevin Newe, of HMRC, said: “Ali believed he had found the perfect fraud that was beyond detection, but he was wrong.

“Our work doesn’t stop with sentencing. We will pursue criminal profits to reclaim them for the taxpayer and the UK economy.”

Ali recruited two couriers, who would fly to Dubai, via Frankfurt, to collect large amounts of gold jewellery.

On the return journey, the couriers would meet Ali in an airside lounge at Frankfurt and swap bags, Ali leaving with the gold and the courier with some clothes.

They would take separate flights back to the UK, passing through the EU entry channel.

In case he was stopped, Ali carried forged paperwork which claimed he was a legitimate VAT-registered gold trader who had travelled to Europe with the gold in his bag.

As he hadn’t left the EU, no duty would be payable on the gold.

HMRC officers uncovered more than 200 such flights.