britain - Blog - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-28T10:32:41Z
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/feed/tag/britain
British drug bosses taken down after police crack communications – Pro football player kicked off investigation
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/british-drug-bosses-taken-down-after-police-crack-communications
2023-09-08T11:27:04.000Z
2023-09-08T11:27:04.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12219415690?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>A West Yorkshire-based organized crime group that trafficked cocaine were sentenced Wednesday to a combined 49 years behind bars. Their prison terms follow a National Crime Agency investigation under Operation Venetic – the UK’s response to the takedown of the encrypted communications platform EncroChat.</p>
<p>Carl O’Flaherty, 38, Paul Shepherd, 45, Clinton Blakey, 38, and Dane Marshall, 42, all from Leeds, were found to be members of the crime group that supplied class A drugs across north west England.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12219415701,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="12219415701?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em><strong>Photo: From L to R: O’Flaherty, Shepherd, Marshall, Blakey</strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Pro footballer kicks off investigation</strong></span></p>
<p>The investigation began in April 2020 when former professional footballer Shepherd – who played for clubs including Leeds United and Luton Town – was stopped by police while driving in Leeds. Officers searched the ex-footballer’s car and seized a fist-sized bag of cocaine and an EncroChat handset.</p>
<p>Forensic examination of the EncroChat device unearthed messages proving the drugs belonged to O’Flaherty, who had instructed Shepherd to move and store them. On the day of the arrest, O’Flaherty – the leader of the crime group – sent a message to an associate stating Shepherd had £112,500 which was due to be taken to Liverpool on his behalf.</p>
<p>O’Flaherty ran the drug supply operation from a number of addresses in West Yorkshire. One such property in Bradford was used as a laboratory in an unsuccessful attempt to extract cocaine from oil, and a second address in Leeds stored and pressed kilo blocks of the drug for onward supply.</p>
<p>At the Leeds property, officers found 13 kilos of amphetamine, large quantities of chemicals used to dilute cocaine and equipment that evidenced 12 kilos of cocaine was repackaged there.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>EncroChat gave insight into business</strong></span></p>
<p>The economics of O’Flaherty’s business model were laid bare on EncroChat – he would purchase three kilos of high purity cocaine for £123,000, dilute the drugs with cheap chemicals and resell four kilos for £150,000.</p>
<p>Drug dealers one step down the supply chain would purchase the cocaine, including Blakey who was one of O’Flaherty’s regular customers. EncroChat messages uncovered their business relationship, as the pair exchanged photographs of cocaine blocks and discussed pricing.</p>
<p>Blakey would add more cheap ingredients to the blocks of cocaine before selling them on at a profit. He was also found to be involved in supplying cannabis.</p>
<p>Marshall, whose EncroChat username was ‘kingchef-uk’, was employed by O’Flaherty to dilute, press and repackage the cocaine blocks to be ready for distribution – a role often titled ‘chef’. He also setup a company named ‘Northface Landscaped Ltd’ to launder the cash proceeds of the group’s activity.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Arrests</strong></span></p>
<p>Investigators linked all the men to the crime group using EncroChat messaging data acquired after Shepherd’s April 2020 arrest. O’Flaherty, Blakey and Marshall were then arrested between May and July in 2020.</p>
<p>Blakey failed to appear at court to face charges in October 2020 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. NCA investigators traced him to Madrid in 2021, where he was arrested by Spanish Police. However he fled again after being given bail in Spain. He was then arrested in Marbella in May this year following a surveillance operation and returned to the UK on 8 June where he was immediately put into custody.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, September 6, at Leeds Crown Court O’Flaherty was sentenced to 17 years and 10 months imprisonment Shepherd to nine years and six months and Marshall to six years and six months. Blakey was sentenced to 12 years, in addition to the remaining three years and six months from a separate drugs conviction.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Gold shipment forfeited after British authorities link it to South American drug cartels
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gold-shipment-forfeited-after-british-authorities-link-it-to-sout
2023-03-24T19:02:35.000Z
2023-03-24T19:02:35.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11002828676?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has obtained a civil recovery order for gold worth an estimated £4 million that was being laundered by South American drug cartels, the NCA announced Tuesday. Financial investigators took up the case after the shipment of gold weighing 104 kilos was seized at Heathrow in June 2019.</p>
<p>The gold was in the cargo section of a plane which had arrived from the Cayman Islands. It was being transported from the Caymans to Switzerland via Heathrow, having earlier been shipped to the Caymans on a private jet which had arrived from Venezuela.</p>
<p>NCA officers worked closely with authorities in the Cayman Islands to prove a false paperwork trail had been created to hide the true origin of the gold as Venezuela, and that those involved in the organization and physical movement of the gold had links to organized crime.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/robbers-set-french-highway-ablaze-as-they-steal-2-5-million-in-go" target="_blank"><strong>Robbers set French highway ablaze as they steal €2.5 million in gold</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Following settlement discussions and an application to the High Court, the NCA obtained a civil recovery order over 80 per cent of the gold under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The remaining 20 per cent will be returned to companies with a financial interest in the gold.</p>
<p>NCA Branch Commander Andy Noyes said: “Criminals are attracted to gold as a way of moving drugs money due to the high value contained in relatively small amounts. Our investigation showed this shipment was linked to drug cartels operating out of South America, but we were able to stop it reaching its final destination thanks to established links with overseas partners. This intervention has disrupted the criminal network, stopping them from reinvesting in further criminality that causes harm to our communities.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
London-based gangsters caught with guns sentenced to prison
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/london-based-gangsters-caught-with-guns-sentenced-to-prison
2021-10-04T08:01:22.000Z
2021-10-04T08:01:22.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9640531052?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Guns are a serious business. Always, but especially in Europe where laws are much more strict. Of course, when it comes to guns and organized crime authorities around the world tend to work by a zero tolerance policy. Three members of a London-based crime organization found that out on Friday.</p>
<p>39-year-old Artem Kuts and 40-year-old Oliver Mark were arrested as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into the supply of firearms. Following a seven-day trial they were found guilty. On Friday, they were sentenced to 15 years and 8 years in prison respectively.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9640531301,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="9640531301?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Surveillance</strong></span></p>
<p>NCA surveillance teams watched as Kuts left his home carrying a brown paper bag on October 12 last year, and got into a black BMW 5 Series registered to Mark. A third man, 26-year-old Alexander Georgiev (also known as Ernis Piranej), was seen getting in and out of the same car several times carrying the brown paper bag. He pleaded guilty at an earlier date and was jailed for 6 years.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9640531869,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="508" alt="9640531869?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a><em><strong>Photo: From left to right: Kuts, Mark, Georgiev</strong></em></p>
<p>Armed officers descended on the black car and found the bag in the rear passenger footwell. It contained a Russian brand Baikal self-loading pistol and eight rounds of Makarov ammunition. Mark and Kuts were both arrested for possession of a firearm.</p>
<p>Georgiev was arrested for conspiring to supply a firearm minutes later, as he attempted to flee in a blue BMW.</p>
<p>Officers then searched Kuts’ home and found two more Baikals and 14 rounds of ammunition, which had been hidden in the garden. They had been packaged heavily and wedged in the corner between the wall and a garden storage unit.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“It is only right they should serve long jail sentences”</strong></span></p>
<p>“Illegal firearms drive serious violence, intimidation and coercion in our communities,” Jacque Beer, NCA Regional Head of Investigations, said. “Seizing handguns like the ones found [here], with the help of our partners at the Metropolitan Police Service, protects the public from this grave threat. The NCA works tirelessly to stop criminals like Kuts, Mark and Georgiev obtaining firearms and it is only right they should serve long jail sentences for their crimes.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>