Three members of a gang which laundered more than £100m in cash were jailed for a total of 15 years, at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday.

The Croydon-based scam had been using links with companies in Pakistan to launder massive amounts of money for criminal organisations throughout the UK, between June 2003 and September 2005.

Ringleader Zaka Ud Din, 38, of Robin Hood Close, Mitcham, pleaded guilty to 19 charges relating to money laundering and was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was also disqualified as a company director for 10 years.

His uncle Ghafoor Ud Din, 49, of Upper Tooting Road, pleaded guilty to one charge and was sentenced to four years imprisonment and disqualified as a company director for 10 years.

Laundered cash courier Sabz Ali Khojo, 29, from east London, was jailed for two years.

A fourth man, 36-year-old Stephen Giles Parker from north London, was sent to prison for 18 months for his links to the gang.

The court heard the money laundering operation was centred around a Money Services Bureau (MSB) called Deans Exchange, in London Road, Croydon, which was run by Zaka Ud Din.

The ringleader was arrested in the car park of the Purley Way Sainsbury's, on September 6 2005, along with Parker, who had just handed over £117,000 cash concealed in shoe boxes.

Ghafoor Ud Din, who owned a different MSB, Dollar East in Tooting, was linked to the disposal of £3m and later arrested at his home.

In a complex operation using methods similar to drug smugglers making payments between America and Columbia, the gang is believed to have laundered up to £105m.

Cash from criminal organisations would be delivered in large holdalls to the MSBs. The money would then be taken to nearby flats, rented in false names, to be counted.

The money would then be used to pay off the legitimate debts of Pakistani companies to UK firms. Companies in Pakistan would deposit what was owed with an MSB in Pakistan which in turn would get Ud Din to settle the debt.

Debbie Hayman, HM Revenue & Customs assistant chief investigation officer, said: "There can be no justification for this type of crime, it is a crime born out of pure greed, and we are delighted to have ended the activities of this group in such a professional and comprehensive manner.

"The sentences delivered today reflect the seriousness with which this type of crime is viewed and we will endeavour to search out anyone, at any level, involved in these activities."

Before passing sentence Judge Peter Thompson said: "You were deeply involved in disposing of criminal cash on a massive scale and you have brought disgrace and humiliation to both yourselves and your families."