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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Male escort' actually cocaine smuggling gang leader
A man who claimed he made his money working as a male escort was actually the leader of a gang which smuggled cocaine worth £20m, investigators discovered. Kulvir Shergill, 43, of Oldbury was jailed for more than 21 years after he eventually pleaded guilty to smuggling class A drugs, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. Four other members of the gang were also jailed, including Jagdeep Singh, who was sentenced to six years and eight months at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday. The gang imported around 250kg of cocaine with a street value of £20m in 2020 and used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to arrange the deals. Shergill told NCA investigators he made his money through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and lucrative personal trainer work. But investigators found he arranged premises in the UK for Class A drugs to be delivered to. He would liaise with conspirators in the Netherlands who would inform him of impending deliveries before his group distributed them to other members around the country. Singh of Tipton was in possession of 30kg of high purity cocaine at the time of his arrest. The 43-year-old was an electrician and was tasked with taking receipt of drugs deliveries and acting as a warehouseman. Three other members were jailed in September: Khurram Mohammed, 37, of Barker Street, Oldbury, was also jailed for 14 years and four months. Shakfat Ali, 38, of Douglas Road, Oldbury, travelled around the UK on the gang's behalf and is believed to have delivered drugs. He was jailed for 16 years and nine months. Mohammed Sajad, 44, of Norton Crescent, Birmingham, was jailed for 16 years. He was already serving a seven-year sentence before these offences. Rick Mackenzie, NCA operations manager, said: "These offenders formed a significant crime group in the West Midlands and had far-reaching contacts to help them peddle drugs all around the UK. "Shergill and his accomplices are directly responsible for the horrendous consequences Class A drugs have among our communities." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Who is Kulvir Shergill, the Indian-origin UK drug lord who claimed to be a ‘male escort'?
Kulvir Shergill, an Indian-origin head of an organised crime group, who has been accused of masterminding international conspiracies to import huge sums of cocaine into the United Kingdom, was sentenced to 21 years and three months in jail on Friday. The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation discovered that Shergill's crime group imported around 250kg of cocaine with a street value of GBP 20 million between February 26 and April 24, 2020, and they used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to arrange the deals, according to a PTI news agency report. Also Read | Al Qaeda tried to poison UK water supply, ex-security minister shares shocking details Shergill and his accomplices are "directly responsible for the horrendous consequences Class A drugs (banned) have among our communities,' the report quoted Rick Mackenzie, NCA operations manager. Kulvir Shergill, a 43-year-old man of Indian origin from the West Midlands, was running a high-level drug trafficking operation that flooded the UK with cocaine worth over £20 million. However, Shergill claimed that he made his money through male escort bookings, teaching martial arts and lucrative personal trainer work. Also Read | Punjab: Drug racket kingpin Bhola out of jail after 11 years According to NCA investigators, Shergill's crime group imported around 250kg of cocaine with a street value of GBP 20 million between February 26 and April 24, 2020. The probe also revealed that they used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to arrange the deals. The investigation found that using the EncroChat handle 'orderlyswarmer', Shergill arranged premises for Class A drugs to be delivered in the UK. On September 20 last year, Shergill was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court. The final member of his gang, 43-year-old Jagdeep Singh, was jailed for the same offences this week. Jagdeep Singh was an electrician by trade, and was tasked with taking receipt of drug deliveries and acting as a warehouseman. Also Read | Drug kingpin Navin Chichkar deported from Malaysia At the time of his arrest in April 2020, he had 30kg of high-purity cocaine. He has now been sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars. Three other OCG members were also sentenced last September: Khurram Mohammed, 37, jailed for 14 years and four months as Shergill's second-in-command and was a trusted worker. (with PTI inputs)
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Alleged drug trafficker Francis Coggins arrested in the Netherlands
He is wanted in the UK on charges relating to smuggling cocaine and heroin Alleged drug trafficker Francis Coggins has been arrested in the Netherlands. The 60-year-old, who was wanted on suspicion of trafficking drugs to the UK was nabbed by Dutch cops outside a residential property in Zandvoort on Tuesday. It comes after he spent five years on the run. He was taken into custody amid ongoing cooperation between the National Crime Agency (NCA), the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), and the Dutch National Police. Dutch National Police (Getty Images) News in 90 Seconds - 5th June 2025 Coggins, of Huyton, Liverpool, was wanted by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit on charges related to smuggling heroin and cocaine. He appeared before a court in Amsterdam on Wednesday as extradition proceedings began. He is alleged to head up the Huyton Firm - a large-scale organised crime group involved in drug trafficking, blackmail, contract killing and violent crime. Also known as the Cantril Farm Cartel, he runs the gang alongside his brother Vincent Coggins, who was jailed for 28 years last year. The powerful drug gang rose to prominence in Merseyside following the downfall of other gangs, such as the one headed up by the notorious Curtis 'Cocky' Warren. The gang originated in a small village and grew to gain a feared reputation, commanding respect from other crooks. Their downfall came when French authorities hacked EncroChat, an encrypted messaging service used by criminal organisations to conduct their business. 'The agency has been working extensively with the ROCU and our international partners to trace Coggins and return him to the UK,' Gill Duggan, head of Europe at the NCA said. 'It does not matter where fugitives go. The agency's reach and strong relationships with international partners mean we will always tenaciously pursue those wanted by law enforcement.' Detective Superintendent Zoe Russo from the North West ROCU added: 'This arrest demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that individuals wanted for serious offences, whether in the UK or abroad, are brought to justice. 'We work closely with international law enforcement partners to track down and apprehend fugitives, no matter where they try to hide. The message is clear: if you are wanted, we will find you.'
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- General
- Glasgow Times
Ex-top cop on catalyst for Scotland's gang war after Spain shootings
Graeme Pearson, former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said the successful infiltration of EncroChat by law enforcement had seen many crime bosses locked up. But this has led to a power vacuum on the streets and new alliances being formed behind bars, with crime groups now fighting it out for supremacy as a result. READ NEXT: Spanish tourists' terror after gangland double murder at busy bar READ NEXT: Footage emerges of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jr shooting READ NEXT: The Glasgow crime story of Jamie Daniel READ NEXT: The Glasgow crime story of the murder bid on Steven Bonzo Daniel Attacks on people and properties have been waged in Glasgow and across central Scotland since March, with the fatal shooting of senior crime figures Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons jnr in Spain on Saturday night being linked to the outbreak of violence. Mr Pearson, who also served as Deputy Chief Constable of Strathclyde police, said: 'One of the big reasons we are in the state we are in just now regarding this gang war is because of EncroChat, and the criminal prosecutions on the back of it, which were very successful. 'It put in Scottish prisons a lot of crime figures who would not otherwise have been convicted. This created a vacuum in the streets which people have been trying to fill. 'It has also put a lot of significant crime figures in prison together, and who are still trying to exert influence on the outside, hampered by the fact they are prisoners. This causes jealousy and problems, with new alliances being created, and the police need to catch up with this. 'It all creates a new kind of tension, with people trying to work out who is in charge. Is it the people who are locked up, and claim to still be in charge, or is it the new faces? It all adds to the mix in terms of the potential for violence.' (Image: Spindrift) EncroChat, the supposedly secure messaging platform favoured by Organised Crime Groups, was comprehensively infiltrated by European law enforcement around five years ago, with the fallout continuing to this day. Mr Pearson said: 'There is a lot of evidence still to be worked through from EncroChat, and a lot of potential leads from that. There are a few doors to be chapped yet. 'Intelligence will have revealed the identities of current players. Individuals involved will all be known. Personal information will all be noted. Some might be abroad, but police will be waiting for them, and charge sheets will be waiting for them.' He said: 'The shooting in Spain is a development almost without precedent, with these two persons known to be senior figures within their organisations and people well known for their activities in the past. 'So there has been a major decision somewhere that they had to be taken out and that will have repercussions. Whether that is in Scotland or elsewhere remains to be seen. 'It could well be that they have caused some upset elsewhere in the world but the evidence will tell us fairly quickly what the facts are on that, I think. "OCGs present a threat to the cohesion of our communities. They target our young, destabilise public services and corrupt our institutions through their wealth and threats. OCGs damage our way of life and our young people's ambitions. Tackling them must remain a priority."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italian mafia use Chinese ‘underground banks' to launder money
Italy's mafia gangs are using Chinese 'underground banks' to launder money from drug trafficking and other crimes, a new report has revealed. Mafia groups are increasingly turning to a system known as Fei Ch'ien – 'flying money' – as a clandestine way of moving vast amounts of cash around the world. An underground banking network that originated in China, it operates through brokers in money exchanges, using encrypted communication systems and minimal record-keeping to make it hard for authorities to track. 'In relation to money laundering, there are links between Italian criminal organisations and Chinese groups who are active in underground banking,' the DIA, Italy's national anti-mafia agency, said in the report, entitled Follow the Money. The clandestine system is now being used extensively by 'big criminal organisations that want to secretly transfer money abroad to finance their criminal activities or to reinvest it', the report said. The DIA said mafia groups such as the Camorra of Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria were becoming increasingly adept at using digital technology to evade detection by the authorities. They employ encrypted communication channels such as EncroChat and Sky ECC, as well as messaging services such as Signal and Telegram. 'There has been a pronounced rise in the adoption of illicit financial instruments which are technologically sophisticated, including artificial intelligence models designed to elude checks,' the report said. Even when mafiosi are arrested, convicted and imprisoned, they are still able to maintain contacts with their criminal empires on the outside. The smuggling of mobile phones into prisons is commonplace and some are delivered by drone, according to the report. Meanwhile, Mafia organisations are increasingly recruiting young men from marginalised backgrounds in cities such as Naples and Rome to act as runners, lookouts and drug dealers. Such groups are known in Italy as 'baby gangs'. These are made up of bands of young delinquents and aspiring mafiosi who, armed with knives and firearms, fight each other for territorial control. Young people from areas with high unemployment are drawn to a life of crime partly by the easy money to be made but also by images that they see on social media, the DIA said. Teenage boys are attracted by 'misleading models of power and wealth' as well as 'ostentation and the promise of affirming their identities,' the report added, saying: 'The glorifying of luxury and violence, through images on social media, contributes to the creation of an image that is warped but very attractive to young people.' The DIA described the rise of 'baby gangs', fuelled by high levels of school absenteeism, unemployment and poverty, as 'particularly worrying'. The report also highlights how Mafia groups are trying to muscle in on the billions of euros swirling around Italy as the country embarks on a number of huge investment projects. They include plans to build a vast suspension bridge from Sicily – the home of Cosa Nostra – to Calabria, the territory of the 'Ndrangheta. Mafia dons have their eyes on the €200 billion of post-pandemic recovery funds that the EU granted to Italy, as well as the billions being spent in Rome to spruce up the city for this year's Jubilee, a special calendar of holy events organised by the Vatican. The crime bosses are also targeting huge amounts of money being spent on preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Milan and the ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites. Italy's different mafia groups are putting aside the bloody feuds of the past and forging collaborative links, the DIA said, with the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra forming alliances at home and abroad. 'Coexistence has fostered synergies that have progressively become structured,' said Michele Carbone, the director of the agency. 'These structures have become 'capable of absorbing overlaps, tensions and frictions'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
