A woman who swindled £48,000 in benefits attempted to flee the UK by stuffing the cash down her leggings under her burqa, a court heard. Mother-of-two Saima Siddique, 36, tried to board a flight to Pakistan with the money hidden in her clothing at Manchester Airport. Bolton Crown Court was told how Siddique claimed a string of benefits for 10 years while working as a hospital cleaner. The court heard how she was stopped by airport security staff in January 2022 after they spotted her ‘oddly shaped’ calves. When officers searched her, they discovered bundles of cash hidden inside the thick black fabric of her leggings. Siddique, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has now been jailed for two years and three months after admitting eight counts of benefit fraud. The court heard how Siddique began claiming benefits in 2011 after fleeing an abusive relationship with her husband. She was given thousands of pounds in housing benefit, jobseekers allowance, council tax benefit and tax credits while working as a cleaner at Rochdale Infirmary. Prosecutor Neil Fryman said: ‘She was receiving benefits in excess of her entitlement by virtue of the fact that she was gainfully employed. ‘The prosecution estimate is that between December 2011 and March 2021 she obtained benefits in excess of £48,300.’ The court heard how Siddique was rumbled after intelligence was passed onto Rochdale Borough Council. Following the arrest, Siddique claimed she had been paid the money by her estranged husband as part of a divorce settlement. But the court heard that there was no evidence to support her claim. In mitigation, Siddique’s lawyer Azi Khan said his client had been ‘naïve and foolish’. He said: ‘She was naive in the extreme. She wanted to go to Pakistan to see her parents. ‘She had been living in a deprived area of Rochdale. She is a lady of limited intellect who had been through a very difficult relationship. ‘She is ashamed and embarrassed by her actions.’ Sentencing, Recorder Anthony Cross QC said: ‘You acted dishonestly and fraudulently over a number of years. ‘You have shown no remorse and took steps to move out of the jurisdiction in order to avoid the consequences of your actions. ‘The public purse is there to help those in genuine need. It’s not there to fund dishonest claims.’Two Polish nationals, Wiktoria Packowska and Wojciech Kowalski, were sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding the UK government of over £700,000 in benefits. Their offenses were uncovered in June 2020 when they attempted to leave the country via the Channel Tunnel with £50,000 cash hidden in Packowska’s leggings and a further £12,000 in her handbag.Two Polish nationals, Wiktoria Packowska and Wojciech Kowalski, were sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding the UK government of over £700,000 in benefits. Their offenses were uncovered in June 2020 when they attempted to leave the country via the Channel Tunnel with £50,000 cash hidden in Packowska’s leggings and a further £12,000 in her handbag. A search of their Ilford, east London home revealed a kitchen kickboard containing a carrier bag filled with mobile phones, bank cards, and documents linking them to fraudulent activity. The couple, both 28, continued to claim benefits they were not entitled to even after being arrested and released on bail. They were arrested again in August 2021 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, possessing articles for use in fraud, and possessing criminal property. Detective Constable Stuart Tracey from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, which conducted the investigation, stated that Kowalski and Packowska abused the benefits system and cheated the government out of funds intended for those in need. He added that the couple’s attempts to evade detection by creating false identities and lying about their residence were unsuccessful.A woman tried to leave the UK with £50,000 stuffed down her leggings after claiming thousands in benefits. The brazen benefits cheat was stopped by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport as she tried to board a flight to Pakistan. She had been claiming benefits for years, despite having a secret stash of cash hidden away. When officers searched her luggage, they found wads of cash hidden in her leggings, as well as in her handbag and coat pockets. The woman was arrested and charged with fraud. She has since been convicted and sentenced to prison. The case highlights the lengths that some people will go to in order to claim benefits illegally. It also shows the importance of the work that Border Force officers do in protecting the UK’s borders.