National Crime Agency (NCA)

Five members of an organised crime group that smuggled 2.7 tonnes of cocaine in a shipment of bananas from south America have been jailed. Petko Zhutev from Bulgaria, Gjergji Diko from Italy, and Albanian nationals Bruno Kuci, Olsi Ebeja, and Erik Muci, were investigated by the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) – a joint NCA and Metropolitan Police unit. They were arrested by OCP officers, supported by an armed MPS unit, at an industrial estate in Tottenham, north London, in February 2021, after receiving 41 pallets of bananas into which the cocaine had been loaded. The seizure is believed to be one of the largest ever of its type in the UK, and the drugs would have had an estimated street value of £210 million. The sentences handed down to these men mark the culmination of a thorough investigation by NCA and Met Police officers. Today (3 December), Muci was sentenced to 33 years, Zhutev to 27 years, Diko to 18 years, Kuci to 21 years and Ebeja to 17 years. By intercepting this huge haul of cocaine, which was one of the largest ever of its kind in the UK, we stopped it from reaching UK communities and protected the public from the scourge of class A drugs and street violence associated with it. We continue to work with partners at home and abroad to target organised criminals at the pinnacle of the class A drugs supply chain and who pose the greatest risk to the UK. Read the full story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e8QFsJJY

The last member of an organised crime group who plotted to send 448 kilos of MDMA to Australia has been jailed for 23 years following an NCA investigation. William Sartin, 63, joins co-conspirators Danny Brown, Stefan Baldauf, Peter Murray, Tony Borg, Leon Reilly and Philip Lawson – who were sentenced for their roles in 2022. The individual at the heart of the plot, Brown, was identified by NCA investigators working on Operation Venetic, the UK-wide response to the infiltration and takedown of encrypted platform EncroChat. The group hid the drugs within the arm of an industrial digger, and organised an online auction to make the excavator's arrival in Australia look legitimate. There, the MDMA would have sold for far more than the UK street price. Sartin played a vital role in this conspiracy; it was in his industrial unit that the excavator was concealed, cut open, and filled with MDMA. Australian Border Force officers x-rayed the digger, removed the drugs and sealed the arm before letting it move onto its intended destination – an auction house in Brisbane – under surveillance. On 18 May, two men from the Australian OCG spent two days trying to find the drugs before realising something was wrong. EncroChat messages show the six UK men launched their own investigation and held meetings to find out who had stolen the drugs. These were attended by Sartin. The group were arrested by NCA officers between mid-2020 and early 2021. Sartin was convicted in September and sentenced to 23 years imprisonment today at Kingston Crown Court. Our work with partners abroad, shown here through our collaboration with the Australian Federal Police, protects the public from the dangers of Class A drugs, which destroy lives and communities here in the UK and across the world. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/euxgyHEF

A man from Airdrie who tried to import thousands of ecstasy tablets into the UK via the postal system in a deal arranged over Snapchat has been jailed. The NCA was notified by Border Force officers at Birmingham Airport that a parcel had been intercepted and found to contain 29,000 green skull-shaped tablets. It had been sent from the Netherlands and was addressed to Marshall Scurfield, who at the time lived in South Tyneside. The tablets later tested positive for MDMA and had an estimated street value of £140,000. As part of the investigation the tablets were removed and a dummy package was sent to Scurfield, who had been receiving parcel tracking updates via Snapchat. He was arrested by NCA officers in February 2022 after being observed accepting the package. When questioned Scurfield admitted that he had agreed to accept the parcel to settle a drugs debt, and that arrangements for its delivery had been made using Snapchat. He admitted importing class A drugs at Newcastle Crown Court on 2 July this year and was sentenced to four years imprisonment at the same court today. Working with our colleagues at Border Force, we were able to prevent a sizeable quantity of ecstasy from making it to our streets, where it would have created exploitation and violence. We continue to pursue and dismantle high harm organised crime networks behind smuggling attempts like these. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eEXQYyAs

As we celebrate #DisabilityHistoryMonth, our apprentice Maria shares what it means to her as an NCA officer and the importance of inclusivity in our workplace. At the NCA, we are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident Leader. We are committed to ensuring that disability is not a barrier to recruitment or promotion, to provide officers with the support they need in their role and to develop their careers. Find out more on our commitment for a positive and inclusive workplace ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e35vZ9SD #IDPWD

Eighteen members of an international organised crime group (OCG) have been convicted after an NCA investigation into the UK’s biggest ever detected drugs conspiracy. The offenders are thought to have smuggled several billion pounds worth of heroin, cocaine and cannabis to the country. From south east England to Scotland, crime gangs were fed drugs from the OCG’s importations – which are believed to have contained more than 50 tonnes of drugs - the weight of around 30 family sized cars. Six seizures of drugs with a total street value of £40m were made from the OCG but NCA investigators proved there were at least 240 importations by the OCG, which went to great lengths to confuse the authorities and avoid justice. The OCG was led by Paul Green, 59, who was jailed for 32 years. As well as bringing in his own OCG’s drugs for sale, Green specialised in operating a smuggling route for other UK based crime groups. To avoid detection, the OCG concealed its drugs in consignments of strong-smelling foodstuffs such as onions, garlic and ginger. In 2018, after the NCA and Dutch Police began working together, the vast scale of the OCG’s offending became clear. Joint working led to the seizure of 450kg of cocaine and heroin and two tonnes of cannabis across three seizures at the ports of Killingholme and Immingham, both Lincolnshire, and one in the Netherlands. Judge Paul Lawton told the offenders: “It was only the dedication, persistence and professionalism of the National Crime Agency working in conjunction with their Dutch counterparts that the scale and complexity of your operation was unmasked.” Tackling the drugs threat is a top priority for the agency and this investigation shows the lengths we will go to in order to protect the public. We worked with a wide array of partners at home and abroad, all of whom provided crucial assistance in helping us put these criminals behind bars. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7A8MBA2

We know it's Cyber Monday but instead of encouraging shopping online, Cyber Choices are encouraging ‘open conversations’ between parents and kids, or even a debate in the classroom around online activities. Some great starter questions are: ❓Do you think it is ok to hack into someone else’s account? ❓Do you think it is just a prank for using a booter tool to kick someone off an online game? Find more resources to aid these conversations at ➡️ www.cyberchoices.uk

Members of an organised crime group that attempted to import 1.2 tonnes of cocaine into the UK with the help of a corrupt port security guard have been jailed for a total of more than 74 years following a major National Crime Agency-led operation. The operation took place at Sheerness Port in Kent in December 2021, and saw more than a hundred officers swoop on the gang as they attempted to recover the drugs from a container. The drugs, which had an estimated street value of more than £90 million, had arrived on a vessel from Costa Rica and were hidden inside a shipment of bananas. The shipment had been arranged by gang leaders Danny Laird, 41, from Buntingford in Hertfordshire, and Joel McCaughey, 34, from Manchester. However, they were unaware they had been the subject of a two-month surveillance operation by the NCA, whose officers watched as a series of meetings took place at pubs, cafes and service stations to organise the importation and recover the drugs. Six men were charged with conspiring to import class A drugs, and all pleaded guilty, while Elphick pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Today a judge at Maidstone Crown Court sentenced Turner to 11 years; Laurie to 12 years and four months; Davidson to 10 years; Woodward to 11 years and three months; Laird to 14 years and eight months and McCaughey to 13 years and four months. The NCA is committed to working with partners to break the supply chains behind the drug trade and dismantle the organised crime groups involved. Full story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ed-_EZxu

Shopping for #BlackFriday? Between November 2023 and January 2024, over 16,500 people lost more than £11.5M to scammers! Keep cyber criminals from landing a blow to your wallet with our top tip for securing your important accounts. #StopThinkFraud Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e53VcW7w

WARNING: This story contains references to child sexual abuse. A man from Exeter who distributed videos of himself sexually assaulting a young girl online has been jailed for 25 years. NCA investigators arrested Woody Spencer at his home earlier this year after receiving information from the Australian Federal Police relating to a video posted online of child sexual abuse. Despite attempts to conceal his identity in the video, experts from the NCA’s victim identification team were able to identify him and he was arrested. Spencer’s phone was found to contain 163 indecent images of children. Additional evidence was identified relating to voyeurism offences against an 18-year-old woman, who Spencer had covertly recorded without permission whilst she was in the shower. He was found guilty of numerous offences at Exeter Crown Court including assault of a child under 13 by penetration. He pleaded guilty to the voyeurism offence at an earlier hearing. Spencer was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and placed on the sex offenders register for life at the same court today. Tackling the global threat of online child sexual abuse is a priority for the NCA and our partners. We will continue to protect the victims of these crimes and prevent offenders like Spencer from causing harm. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ewXWrDvZ

📺 Watch the story of people smugglers Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir in Undercover People Smugglers on BBC iPlayer. The NCA’s Derek Evans provided an exclusive interview on how our officers painstakingly pieced together the duo's movements, using tactics including surveillance, to prove their crimes. Catch up now ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eJS4vKJ3