UK Policing News

A Birmingham man suspected of being the mastermind behind a network of UK cannabis farms has been arrested as part of a National Crime Agency investigation. The 33-year old Vietnamese national was detained on suspicion of conspiring to produce and distribute cannabis this morning as officers raided his home address in Essex Street, central Birmingham. His 24-year-old female partner was also arrested and is now being questioned. The arrests follow raids on a series of premises that were being used to cultivate cannabis, including a three storey former nightclub targeted in Coventry during an NCA operation on 15 October. It was found to contain around 1,000 plan…

A man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for money laundering offences after being caught trying to smuggle almost £500,000 out of the UK within a truckload of air fresheners. Polish National Krzysztof Hubert Turadek, 34 appeared at Canterbury Crown Court yesterday (03 November) where he received the almost two year sentence following an investigation by the National Crime Agency. He initially pled guilty on 27 October at Canterbury Crown Court. Turadek was originally stopped by Border Force on September 19 2020 as he drove an HGV tractor unit with an accompanying trailer through outbound freight controls in Dover, Kent. The vehicle was carrying a legitimate…

A corrupt money transfer business owner responsible for a £5 million money laundering scheme is being sent back to prison after the National Crime Agency found he had flouted the terms of his release. Shafiq Ahmed, 59, from Leigham Court Road, Streatham, London was today (3 November) sentenced to a year in prison at Kingston Crown Court for breaching his Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO). A stricter SCPO has been granted with restricted terms, and he has to forfeit a phone and two SIM cards. Ahmed was originally jailed in June 2013 for running a criminal network responsible for laundering millions of pounds from his base in Tooting, London. Following a National C…

A Romanian lorry driver has been jailed after a National Crime Agency investigation found that he had attempted to bring cocaine worth up to £1 million into the UK. At Canterbury Crown Court on 30 October, Cristian-Dan Balasoiu, 46, was sentenced to 7 years and six months imprisonment for attempting to import 10 kilos of the Class A drug. The NCA investigation started on the 13th August after Border Force officers at Dover found a red bag marked ‘DIRK’ inside the cab area of Balasoiu’s lorry. The bag was found to contain 10 wrapped blocks of cocaine. Balasoui told NCA investigators he knew “absolutely nothing” about the drugs, if he had seen the bag he would have l…

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West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson has been heavily criticised for questioning whether the police service is always the best agency to deal with domestic abuse cases. Full Story - Police Professional