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THE KIM Kardashian lookalike facing jail over a £5m money laundering operation made a selfie video bragging about her spending habits.

Tara Hanlon, 30, shot the footage just hours after landing on a glitzy foreign holiday.

Tara Hanlon made a video bragging about her spending habits
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Tara Hanlon made a video bragging about her spending habitsCredit: Ben Lack
Hanlon was stopped by Border Force officials at Heathrow trying to board a flight to Dubai
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Hanlon was stopped by Border Force officials at Heathrow trying to board a flight to DubaiCredit: Ben Lack
She was caught with £1.9m stashed in five suitcases
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She was caught with £1.9m stashed in five suitcasesCredit: PA

In the footage sent to a friend back home she boasted about how much she had spent.

The former recruitment firm executive – who faces up to nine years in jail - said: “Gonna have to make money again darlings. I’ve spent a fortune already and we’ve been here for less than 24 hours.”

Hanlon was arrested at Heathrow last October with nearly £2million in banknotes stuffed in five suitcases trying to board a flight to Dubai.

She had made three previous trips smuggling out more than £3million.

She admitted money laundering when she appeared in court this week and will be sentenced next month.

Hanlon had been stopped by Border Force officials who were suspicious about her luggage when she arrived in Terminal 2.

Tara Hanlon, 30, appeared in court via video-link
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Tara Hanlon, 30, appeared in court via video-linkCredit: PA
Hanlon's grandmother said she wanted to look like Kim Kardashian (pictured)
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Hanlon's grandmother said she wanted to look like Kim Kardashian (pictured)Credit: Instagram
Hanlon, from Leeds, now faces up to seven years behind bars
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Hanlon, from Leeds, now faces up to seven years behind barsCredit: Ben Lack

They opened her suitcases and discovered hundreds of rolls of cash inside totalling £1.9million, the biggest haul of cash by Border Force last year.

Hanlon, of Leeds, was arrested and prevented from boarding her flight.

The Kim Kardashian fan has had cosmetic surgery to make her lips look like those of the US reality TV star.

Her altered features can clearly be seen on the video of her boasting about her spending habits which was shot before her arrest.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of removing criminal property when she appeared by video link at Isleworth Crown Court in London on Thursday, relating to cash amounts of £1.4million on July 14, £1.1million on August 10 and £1million on August 31 last year.

She also admitted attempting to remove £1.9million in criminal cash from the country on the day she was arrested at Heathrow.

Her arrest sparked a National Crime Agency investigation targeting a suspected network of couriers allegedly responsible for laundering more than £50million in criminal profits.

Three men and five women were arrested as part of the investigation.

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A month after Hanlon was caught, Czech national Zdenek Kamaryt, 38, was held as he tried to board a flight from Heathrow to Dubai with £1.3million in cash in his bags.

He was jailed for two years in March after pleading guilty to money laundering offences.

Hanlon’s arrest stunned her family.

Her grandmother Maureen Downs, 80, said she had been devastated by the death of her mother last year.

She also suggested her 'naive' granddaughter may have been the victim of a set-up involving switched bags.

But her guilty plea means she is now facing a certain jail sentence.

Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh adjourned the case for sentencing on July 26. He granted Hanlon bail but told her: "Obviously it will be a prison sentence. You must be ready for that - bring a bag.”

Chris Philp, minister for immigration compliance and the courts, said at the time of her arrest: "This is the largest individual cash seizure at the border so far in 2020 and I am delighted with the efforts of Border Force officers.

“Preventing the export of undeclared cash from the UK is a vital step in clamping down on organised criminal gangs."

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National Crime Agency branch operations manager Ian Truby said: “Cash is the lifeblood of organised crime and Tara Hanlon was heavily involved in moving several million pounds out of the country.

“We are determined to do all we can to stop that flow of illicit finance and disrupt the criminal networks involved in money laundering.”

The court heard that she had previously moved £1.4m out of the country on July 14 last year, another £1.1m on August 10 and £1m on August 31
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The court heard that she had previously moved £1.4m out of the country on July 14 last year, another £1.1m on August 10 and £1m on August 31Credit: PA
She was caught with the cash stashed in suitcases
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She was caught with the cash stashed in suitcasesCredit: PA
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