A former Dublin Airport police officer and male model has begun a prison sentence in the north following extradition from the Republic after being convicted over money laundering.
Mark Adams, from Malahide in Co Dublin, laundered millions of pounds for organised crime groups by smuggling cash on flights.
The 44-year-old was convicted as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation in 2018 after he was stopped at Belfast International Airport before boarding a flight to Alicante in Spain.
He was found to be carrying over €180,000 disguised in folders appearing to contain legally privileged documents.
Adams claimed he was travelling to attend a wedding, but was booked on a return flight less than two hours after being due to arrive in Spain.
He was subsequently found to have taken almost 500 flights in and out of the UK in the preceding five years.
After being released on bail by the NCA he failed to return and a European Arrest Warrant was issued.
Adams had meanwhile been charged in the Republic with four counts of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison.
While serving his sentence, he was convicted over the Belfast International Airport incident and in 2022 was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
On Wednesday he was extradited to the north to begin serving the sentence.
NCA branch commander David Cunningham said: “By working together with our law enforcement partners we were able to ensure he faced justice in both jurisdictions.”
