National Crime Agency (NCA)

Return to News14 July 2016 A £650,000 house is to be sold to meet the tax liability on cash payments linked to an alleged conspiracy, backed by Moammar Gaddafi, to assassinate the then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. The High Court order for possession and sale of the house relates to payments received by Muhammad Al Massari, a political dissident and critic of the regime in Saudi Arabia, who has been living in the UK since 1994. Al Massari received the cash payments between 2003 and 2004 from Abdurahman Muhammad Almoudi, one of Gaddafi’s agents. The NCA argued that the payments were the proceeds of crime and represented income upon which it could raise tax assessments, i…

Return to News 11 July 2016 The captain and first officer of an ocean going tug boat have been found guilty of drug trafficking following the biggest ever UK seizure of class A drugs. The cocaine, with an estimated potential street value of £512 million once adulterated, was found hidden on board the Tanzanian flagged MV Hamal in April 2015. The vessel had been intercepted by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Somerset and Border Force cutter HMC Valiant in the North Sea approximately 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeenshire. They were acting on intelligence supplied by the NCA, working in co-operation with the French customs investigation service DNRED and the UK’s Nati…

Return to News7 July 2016 The National Crime Agency has today published the pdf Cyber Crime Assessment 2016 (189 KB), outlining the immediate threat to UK businesses from cyber crime. This is the first cyber crime assessment produced jointly by the NCA and industry partners. The NCA reports that the accelerating pace of technology and criminal cyber capability currently outpaces the UK’s collective response to cyber crime, calling for stronger collaborative working between government, law enforcement and, crucially, business to reduce vulnerabilities and prevent crime. The assessment shows that cyber crime activity is growing fast and evolving, with the threats from Di…

Return to News4 July 2016 The head of an organised crime network linked to the UK-wide distribution of cocaine and heroin worth £1.6billion across the UK has been jailed for 20 years today at Birmingham Crown Court, after pleading guilty to importing and supplying class A drugs. James Gibson, aged 56 from Ollerton in Nottinghamshire, had a leading role in distributing substantial amounts of class A drugs to organised crime groups across the UK using trusted, willing and well paid couriers. He had direct links with a Dutch organised crime group (OCG) who used a fleet of fake ambulances to bring up to £1.6bn worth of drugs including high-purity cocaine and heroin to the U…

Return to News30 June 2016 A man who used his online chemical supply businesses to sell large quantities of cutting agents to drug dealers has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police Service’s Organised Crime Partnership. Gregory King, 26, from Wetherby in West Yorkshire, dealt mainly in the pharmaceutical drug benzocaine, and bought 1.2 tonnes of it between April 2013 and January 2014. The chemical is a dental anaesthetic which is popular for bulking cocaine to increase the quantity of the drug, and the criminal profit available when it is sold on, without altering its appearance. Ov…

Home News Dark web gun importer convicted following US seizure Return to News 28 June 2016 A man from Smethwick in the West Midlands has been jailed for buying gun parts on the dark web, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency and the US Department of Homeland Security. It began after US customs officers examined a parcel that had been posted from Michigan. The package, addressed to Moynul Haque (below right) in Smethwick was declared as an antique radio set, but hidden inside they found a pistol slide, barrel and recoil spring for a Glock 9mm handgun. The case was referred to officers from the National Crime Agency’s Birmingham border investiga…

Home News Back behind bars after 21 years on the run Return to News 27 June 2016 A fugitive who spent 21 years on the run is back behind bars, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency. Malcolm Gooch, 68, from Chigwell in Essex absconded while on day release from HMP Send in Surrey in July 1995. He was three years into an 11 year sentence for drug smuggling. Earlier this year NCA investigators identified that he may have been using a fraudulently obtained genuine passport in the name of Roger Skelton. They linked him to travel to Paris and the south of France. On Saturday 25 June Border Force officers notified the NCA that the passport was being …

Home News Director General statement on EU referendum result Return to News NCA to work with government to plan next steps for law enforcement 24 June 2016 NCA Director General Lynne Owens: “We are proud to protect the UK and its people from serious and organised criminals and this decision does nothing to diminish our commitment and our vigour. “The NCA works with partners in over 150 countries because organised crime is not constrained by geographical or jurisdictional boundaries. To tackle it effectively we must be able to cooperate closely and share intelligence in an agile way. If it cannot be met through EU mechanisms we will find others. “For now, ongoi…

Return to News23 June 2016 National Crime Agency officers this morning arrested two men in Rotherham and Sheffield in connection with an investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the town between 1997-2013, Operation Stovewood. The men have been taken to a police station in South Yorkshire where they will be interviewed. One man was arrested in Rotherham on suspicion of indecent assault. The offence is believed to have taken place against a girl aged under 16. The second man was arrested in Sheffield on suspicion of sexual assault. The offence is believed to have taken place against a different girl, also aged under 16. No further informa…

Home News Four arrested in cross-Channel people smuggling investigation Return to News 23 June 2016 Four men have been arrested as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into the smuggling of migrants across the English Channel. The four, two British men aged 65 and 49, a naturalised British citizen of Kuwaiti origin aged 42 and an Egyptian man aged 33 were detained following a series of raids in Birmingham, Blackpool and Wiltshire on Tuesday 21 June. The operation was carried out with the support of Lancashire, Wiltshire and West Midlands police forces, and in co-operation with the French authorities. Cash, mobile phones and computers were also seized. …

Home News NCA DG at Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group meeting in Washington Return to News 17 June 2016 Lynne Owens, Director General of the NCA, has been in Washington this week meeting with her counterparts in the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Australian Crime Commission, Australian Federal Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and New Zealand Police. This coalition of international agencies, together with the NCA, makes up the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group (FELEG) who work together to tackle transnational crime. Lynne Owens commented: “Recognising that serious and organised crime crosses jurisdictions, and colla…

Home News Prison for Glasgow man who smuggled stun guns from China Return to News 16 June 2016 A man from Glasgow will serve a prison sentence after attempting to import ten stun guns disguised as mobile phones in the post from China. James Jefferson, 37, was arrested after National Crime Agency investigators raided his flat in Kingsway Court, Scotstounhill in February 2013. The guns (right) had been seized by Border Force officers carrying out checks on incoming mail at a postal depot in Coventry. They were addressed to his partner. Jefferson initially denied knowing that they were weapons, but analysis of computers and paperwork found at his flat showed he ha…

Home News Something fishy in brothel profits Return to News 15 June 2016 An alleged money launderer for London brothels who used a fictitious catering company to disguise her services has been handed a Civil Recovery Order against her assets of £25,121.79. Helena Berkyova, aged 28, is believed to have attended brothels in the Soho and Covent Garden areas of London to process chip and pin card payments from customers. These payments were laundered via card machines leased to a fictitious catering company called FineDining88 which Ms Berkyova had set up to disguise the various services paid for as, amongst other things, disproportionately expensive soufflés and crab s…

Home News Criminal couple lose assets following NCA investigation Return to News 13 June 2016 A husband and wife from Bromley have lost their family home after being ordered to pay almost half a million pounds earned from their criminality. Matthew Harrod (43) was sentenced to ten years in prison in February 2014 after a National Crime Agency investigation into his drug dealing. His wife Fiona Kelly (48) was convicted of money laundering and benefit fraud. NCA officers carried out a financial investigation to identify the profits the couple amassed, and obtained restraint orders for a number of assets in their names, including bank accounts and the couple’s luxur…

Home News NCA Deputy Director General made CBE Return to News 11 June 2016 The achievements of a career investigator spanning some four decades have been recognised with one of the highest awards in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours. NCA Temporary Deputy Director General David Armond – who started in policing with the Met in 1976 – was made a CBE in recognition of his work, particularly on the international stage. Director General Lynne Owens paid tribute to his professionalism. “His achievements in international policing relations, where he has won respect across the law enforcement landscape, have been particularly impressive,” she added. A passionate offic…