The mother of a playboy drugs boss was today jailed for laundering the proceeds of his crimes. Fatemah Sheibani, 75, was arrested by Greater Manchester Police as she stepped off a plane from Turkey at Manchester Airport, the force has revealed.
Her son, Aram Sheibani, now 41, was jailed for 37 years in June last year. Sheibani, who a court heard enjoyed an extraordinary lavish lifestyle funded by crime, was involved in a high-level cocaine conspiracy for almost a decade before he was brought to justice.
He amassed a £5m property empire, stayed in luxury accommodation, travelled around the world and drove top of the range cars such as a Bentley and a Porsche.
READ MORE: From war-torn Iran to the playboy lifestyle - how Aram Sheibani became an international drugs boss
Police found he had more than £1m in cash - and had also shelled out for cosmetic surgery including veneers, hair transplants and a nose job.
Aram Sheibani, from Bowden, Trafford, was found guilty of a series of charges including obtaining a money transfer by deception; possession of criminal property; converting criminal property; fraud; forgery; conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and possession of a controlled drug of class A, together with perverting the course of justice.
Now his mother has joined him behind bars. Fatemah Sheibani was sentenced by a judge at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday to 10 months after an investigation led by GMP's Money Laundering Team, the force said.
She pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud and money laundering. In a Facebook post, GMP Trafford South revealed photographs of her, including one of her stood by a luxury Bentley car.
They said: "Fatemah is the mother of Trafford drug dealer Aram Sheibani, who was jailed for 37 years in June 2021, after it was found he funded his luxury lifestyle with fraud, money laundering and drugs.
"Fatemah had initially fled the country to Iran on 1 August 2019 and shortly after a European Arrest Warrant was issued. She returned to the UK however when her son was sentenced.
"On 23 February 2022, officers from Greater Manchester Police Money Laundering Team attended Manchester Airport where Fatemah was arrested after disembarking a flight from Turkey. Fatemah was immediately remanded in custody and has been in Styal Prison, until today when she appeared in court.
"Following the investigation, it came to light that Fatemah was embroiled in her son's criminality - dishonestly obtaining money and transferring property worth £150,000 in the knowledge that it was the proceeds of criminal conduct."
Det Sgt Lucy Pearson led the investigation. She said: "These people have been brought to justice thanks to the hard work of the Money Laundering Team, the wider Economic Crime Unit and Cyber Crime Team of the GMP serious crime division.
"Fatehmah Sheibani and Aram Sheibani made the despicable decision to use fraud and deceit to fund their own lifestyles and I’m pleased that the sentence today has ensured they are now both facing punishment for their crimes.
"Fighting fraud is a relentless task but GMP are committed to securing justice for victims and will always seek to strip criminals of their ill-gotten gains."
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