Booze barons get eleven years

Two businessmen who laundered £25m from an illegal alcohol smuggling operation have been jailed for more than eleven years. Santokh Bharj, 54, and Mandeep Dhillon, 40, were arrested following an extensive HMRC probe into 14 separate companies. Investigators concluded that ‘none of these companies have any legitimate purpose,’ said prosecutor William Hughes. The businesses were set up to launder money made from the sale on non-duty paid alcohol smuggled into the UK. Mr Hughes said £25m of criminal proceeds were…