Fraudsters jailed for laundering cash from human trafficking ring hid £22,000 before they were arrested Sisters Bo, 46 and Yan Li, 43, were jailed in 2009 for laundering cash Linked to operation which saw 23 cockle pickers die in Morecambe Bay The two women benefitted from their criminal activity by £1.07million A pair of convicted fraudsters who hid their ill-gained cash for the duration of their prison sentence - only to attempt to spend it within weeks of being released - have been sent back to prison. Sisters Bo, 46 and Yan Li, 43, were jailed in 2009 for laundering cash, linked to a human trafficking operation which claimed the lives of 23 cockle pickers at Morecambe Bay in Lancashire in 2004. Two years ago at Birmingham Crown Court, it was found that the two women both benefitted from their criminal activity by £1.07million, which they were ordered to pay back. Sisters: Bo (left), 46 and Yan Li (right), 43, were jailed in 2009 for laundering cash, linked to a human trafficking operation which claimed the lives of 23 cockle pickers at Morecambe Bay in Lancashire in 2004 Caught: Police arrested the sisters at a hotel in Chippenham, Wiltshire, although before officers had a chance to search their room, Yan Li's boyfriend, Phillip Freeman, removed more than £22,000 and hid it in a locker But just three weeks after being released later in 2011, they were caught trying to pass-off £20 notes that, unbeknown to them, had been withdrawn from circulation whilst they were in jail in 2010. Police arrested them at a hotel in Chippenham, Wiltshire, but before officers had a chance to search their room, Yan Li's boyfriend, Phillip Freeman, removed more than £22,000 and hid it in a locker. Staff found the money during a routine clear out of the lockers and called police about the concerns when 64-year-old Freeman returned to collect the money the following day. Freeman drove the money to Bo Li's boyfriend's house, John Bowkett, in Solihull, Birmingham, who put it in a plastic container and buried it in his back garden, where it was later discovered by police. Cash: Just three weeks after being released in 2011, the sisters were caught trying to pass-off £20 notes that unbeknown to them had been withdrawn from circulation whilst they were in jail in 2010 Freeman admitted delivering the cash to 65-year-old Bowkett who then led officers to the bottom of the garden were he handed over the money. They clearly have no remorse for the way in which they obtained this money and wasted no time in trying to spend it on their release from prison Detective Sergeant Derek Tinsley All four were charged with money laundering and convicted by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court on September 20. On Friday, the Chinese-national Li sisters were jailed for two years. Freeman received a four month jail term suspended for 12 months while Bowkett was handed a six month community work order and issued a four month overnight curfew. Both Freeman and Bowkett were ordered by the judge to each pay £10,000 costs. Evidence: Hotel staff found the money during a routine clear out of the lockers and called police about the concerns when 64-year-old Freeman returned to collect the money the following day Detective Sergeant Derek Tinsley, of the West Midlands Regional Asset Recovery Team, said: "It took just three weeks for the Li sisters to return to their criminal lifestyle and to try and use their dirty cash. They clearly have no remorse for the way in which they obtained this money and wasted no time in trying to spend it on their release from prison. We will probably never know where the money was hidden for the last few years but we are convinced it was kept from the original people trafficking operation and other related crime. I hope this serves as a reminder to those who seek to profit from the misery of others that we will pursue them relentlessly, regardless of the passage of time and we will always take action to put ill-gotten cash back into the public purse. Probe: The Morecambe Bay disaster in 2004 saw 23 immigrants working for criminal gangmasters drown The Morecambe Bay disaster in 2004 saw 23 Chinese immigrants working for criminal gangmasters drown while cockle picking after they were trapped by the rising tide. The deaths of the men and women - aged between 18 and 45 - exposed the illegal practices of gangmasters who exploit vulnerable migrant workers for cheap labour. All of the victims had been illegal immigrants, some of whom had only been in the UK for a few months before the tragedy. The man who sent them out on to the sands in February 2004 - gangmaster Lin Liang Ren - was later given a 14-year prison sentence for manslaughter.