Six members of an international crime gang have been jailed following an investigation which spanned the country - from Essex and Cambridgeshire to Bristol, the Midlands and Wales.
The organised crime gang received funds from Vietnamese nationals in France attempting to cross the English Channel - sums between £7,000 and £11,500.
But gang members ultimately received what they termed "workers" - in one case for a cannabis production operation, according to investigators.
Eastern Region Special Operations Unit officers executed warrants in Cambridge and Chelmsford to bust open the operation.
They also carried out warrants in Birmingham, Leicester, Birmingham and parts of Wales.
DC Paul Gillick, of ERSOU’s criminal finance team, said the operation was "highly sophisticated".
DC Gillick said: "Organised crime destroys lives. Anyone helping to facilitate it will face the full force of the law.
"These gangs are desperate for people to help them avoid detection and move their money.
"People need to be wise to this and know that ignorance is no excuse: if you are caught doing this, there is a very strong chance you will go to prison."
He added: "This was a major, highly sophisticated operation which attempted to conceal large sums of criminal cash across international borders."
According to ERSOU, Vietnamese students in the UK were roped into the operation at one British university.
The students received sums of money into their bank accounts before they transferred it to other Vietnamese nationals in the UK who were running businesses exporting clothing to Asia.
Money was also being laundered through nail bars.
The six guilty pleas and verdicts relating to crimes linked to financial offences in this case are worth nearly £4.2 million.
One of the gang members who was supplied with "workers" for a cannabis operation was Geraldo Baci, of St Michaels Road in Bedford.
ESROU officers raided the 30-year-old's home and found cannabis worth around £25,000 and around £5,000 in cash.
The courts found Baci guilty of possession with intent supply cannabis, possession of criminal property and possession of a controlled article for use in fraud.
He was given a 16-month prison sentence.
My Ha Do, aged 31, of The Quarterdeck in London's Isle of Dogs, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cannabis, two counts of converting criminal property and two counts of transferring criminal property, in connection to money laundering offences worth almost £2 million.
She received a three-year prison sentence at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, September 5.
In another trial which took place in March, three other women were found guilty of money laundering offences described by ESROU as "significant".
Hanh Tuyet Nguyen, aged 43, of Dale Road, Shrewsbury, was found guilty of two counts of concealing criminal property and a further count of converting criminal property.
She was sentenced to two years in prison.
Thi Ngoc Nguyen, aged 31, of Broomfield Road, Bristol, was found guilty of transferring criminal property and possession of criminal property.
She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Thi Phuong Huyen Phan, aged 35, of Willoughby Road in London, was found guilty of concealing criminal property.
She avoided jail as her 10-month prison time was suspended for 18 months.
Additionally, 53-year-old Ly Thi Hoai Pham, of no fixed address, previously pleaded guilty to converting criminal property and conspiring to supply cannabis.
She was jailed for six and a half years.
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