Latest news with #AsrarRafiq
Sunday World
14-05-2025
- Sunday World
Video shows dramatic moment cops use chainsaw to break through drug dealer's door
Dramatic bodycam footage shows Asrar Rafiq with his hands above his head after police cut through his door in an operation involving firearms officers at a property in Aston The moment a drug dealer came face to face with a chainsaw as armed police broke through door has been caught on camera. The dramatic bodycam footage shows Asrar Rafiq with his hands above his head after police cut through his door in an operation involving firearms officers in June 2020 at a property in Aston. Rafiq was later sentenced to more than 18 years in prison following an international operation which had cracked the EncroChat messaging service used by organised criminals. The 35-year-old had boasted about the hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash which he made through drug deals, while listing various weapons including AK-47s and Uzis which he claimed he could source for other criminals. Asrar Rafiq Described as a leading member of the notorious Bordesley Green gang, Rafiq was one of 12 people given a gang injunction in 2014. But his criminality continued, and a major investigation by the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands (ROCUWM) established that he used 13 different phone numbers in an effort to evade detection. CCTV caught him using his phones while working out a local gym. News in 90 Seconds - May 14th He was later caught when police managed to hack into the encrypted global communication service used exclusively by criminals on mobile phones. Criminals had been using the app to message each other in what they thought was a secure chat. There were 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 users in the UK who used it to coordinate and plan the distribution of illicit commodities, engage in money laundering and in plotting to kill rival criminals. However, unbeknown to users, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the police monitored their every move in the aftermath of the cracking under the nationwide Operation Venetic. According to the NCA who played a key role in analysing the intercepted data resulting in thousands of arrests, Rafiq was one of the users of the app and went by the name 'Wisehorse'. He engaged in what he thought were secret conversations with other criminals to organise the supply of massive amounts of heroin and cocaine. Rafiq had tried to claim the messages were 'just bravado and that he was trying to big himself up to other drug dealers', said DCI Peter Cooke who described the claims as 'fanciful'. 'He was clearly a significant player in the criminal underworld of firearms and drug dealing, which causes so much misery on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond,' Cooke added. 'This result shows that while Operation Venetic was launched five years ago, the fallout for those involved in serious and organised crime continues to this day.' Rafiq eventually pleaded guilty to encouraging or assisting with the sourcing, advertising and sale of prohibited weapons and ammunition, and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin. Rafiq, of no fixed address, was jailed for 18 years and six months at Birmingham Crown Court last Thursday, and was sentenced on the basis that he had or supplied 28kg of heroin and cocaine during a short period of just three months. DCI Peter Cooke added: 'This result shows that while Operation Venetic was launched five years ago, the fallout for those involved in serious and organised crime continues to this day.' 'The success is part of Operation Target, our 24/7 mission to disrupt and arrest those involved in serious and organised crime in the West Midlands. 'Those involved in guns, drugs, money laundering, exploitation are all in our sights.'
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Moment armed police chainsaw their way through cocky gang leader's front door after he flooded the streets with £2m of drugs in just three months
Armed police ripped through the front door of a gang leader's house after he flooded the streets with £2million worth of drugs in just three months. Officers arrested Asrar Rafiq, 35, after they cracked the secretive EncroChat messaging service used by organised criminals. He used the encrypted systems to boast about his wealth, under the name 'Wisehorse', to discuss drug deals and offer weapons including including AK47S and Uzis, to other criminals. Rafiq continued to sell drugs and weapons despite being one of 12 gang members given an injunction in 2014 after being described as a leading member of the Bordesley Green gang in Birmingham. A court heard he had supplied 28kg of heroin and cocaine, worth around £2million, over three months. He was finally caught when he was arrested at his home in Aston, Birmingham, in June 2020. Incredible footage shows the moment police officers raided the house using a chainsaw to smash through his front door in the early morning raid. Bodycam shows the moment a stunned Rafiq emerged half-naked and bleary-eyed from the bedroom as officers swarmed the property. Bodycam shows the moment a stunned Rafiq emerged half-naked and bleary-eyed from the bedroom When he was arrested Rafiq claimed he was maliciously targeted by police until he was confronted by the damning EncroChat messages. He admitted encouraging or assisting with the sourcing, advertising and sale of prohibited weapons and ammunition. He also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin. Rafiq, of no fixed address, was jailed for 18-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court last week. Officers discovered he used EncroChat to share a list of weapons including AK47s and Uzis, which he told associates he would be able to secure for them. The Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands (ROCUWM) discovered he used 13 different phone numbers in a bid to evade detection. CCTV caught him using his phone while working out at a local gym. But he was caught after police cracked the bespoke encrypted global communication service EncroChat, which was used exclusively by criminals. Marketed as the 'world's most secure handset', the device was popular among hitmen, drug lords and other major criminals. There were 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 users in the UK. Police discovered Rafiq, using the nickname 'Wisehorse', had conversations with other gangsters about supplying drugs. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Cooke, from ROCUWM, said: 'Rafiq tried to claim the messages were just bravado and that he was trying to big himself up to other drug dealers. 'The claim was described as 'fanciful'. 'He was clearly a significant player in the criminal underworld of firearms and drug dealing, which causes so much misery on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond.'
