National Crime Agency (NCA)

Home News NCA officers recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours Return to News 11 June 2016 Five NCA officers have been recognised in the Queen's 2016 Birthday Honours list. They include Deputy Director General David Armond who gets a CBE for services to law enforcement. Diane Murray gets an MBE for services to law enforcement and sports coaching, while an officer who can’t be named because of the nature of his work also gets an MBE. British Empire Medals go to Mary Ambler for services to law enforcement and Sarah Groenewegen for services to law enforcement and promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Director General Lynne Owens (right) has offered he…

Return to News7 June 2016 One of the world’s most wanted people smugglers, dubbed ‘The General’, has been arrested in Sudan following an international operation. Mered Medhanie, a 35-year-old Eritrean, was apprehended by an investigation team from the Sudanese National Police on 24 May after the National Crime Agency tracked him down to an address in the El Diem area of Khartoum. The capture of Medhanie, who was wanted by the Italian authorities, can be reported now that he has been successfully extradited to Italy. He arrived at Rome Airport tonight and will appear before a judge within 24 hours. NCA officers from the UK Immigration Crime Taskforce, called Project In…

Home News Prolific child abuser used teaching post to target victims Return to News 6 June 2016 A British man who used his position as an English school teacher in Malaysia to groom families and gain access to their very young children has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to 71 child abuse offences. An investigation by the National Crime Agency's CEOP Command was launched into 29-year-old Richard Huckle after he was identified as the producer of indecent images on a child abuse website on the internet. When NCA officers arrested him in 2014, they found 20,000 indecent images on his computer, 1,117 of which showed him raping and abusing chil…

Home News Operation targets criminals involved in trafficking and exploitation Return to News 6 June 2016 A UK-wide operation targeting those involved in trafficking and exploitation has led to the arrest of at least 25 people and the identification of more than a hundred potential victims. The week of action, codenamed Operation Hornsman, saw dozens of operations took place across the UK aimed at targeting the criminal networks and individuals behind trafficking and exploitation, and protecting and safeguarding potential victims. Some of the results included: - Two people including a nail bar manager arrested for modern slavery offences in Devon, three potential…

Home News Sailors had £120m cocaine hidden on yacht Return to News 3 June 2016 Two men who sailed a yacht carrying almost a tonne of cocaine across the Atlantic have been sentenced to more than 34 years in prison. Sailing the yacht were Raymond Aalders, 47, (above right) and skipper, Hendrik Brugmans, 69, (left) both Dutch nationals. National Crime Agency investigators found evidence that Brugmans was paid 1.2 million Euros for making the trip. They were both arrested after the yacht Golem was intercepted by a Border Force cutter off the coast of Rye on 31 August 2015. At the time of its interception the Golem had it’s navigation beacon turned off and was noti…

Return to News 3 June 2016 Five men responsible for attempting to smuggle the largest haul of automatic weapons ever seized on the UK mainland have been given prison sentences totaling more than 90 years. The guns, 22 Czech VZ-58 assault rifles and nine Skorpion machine pistols, were transported from the continent by boat into the River Medway in Kent by the gang led by Harry Shilling, unaware they were being watched by the National Crime Agency. Shilling was sentenced to 30 years, while his “trusted lieutenants” Michael Defraine and Richard Rye got 27 years and 14 years and three months respectively. Boat skipper David Payne was sentenced to 14 years and six month…

Crime Operational Support provides expert assistance to Senior Investigating Officers dealing with serious crime investigations including: murder no body murder rape abduction suspicious missing persons series and serious sexual offences. The team consists of four regional teams who are each led by a SIO Regional Adviser; they have broad experience in serious crime investigation as Senior Investigating Officers. They can, at the SIO’s request, offer strategic advice and practical support to investigators of serious and series crimes and other complex enquiries including cross-border and high profile cases. The Regional Adviser will formulate a Regional Support Team of…

Home News Drug trafficker to hand back his ‘dirty’ profits Return to News 23 May 2016 The National Crime Agency has been granted a Confiscation Order for more than £200,000 against a convicted drug trafficker. Thair Mahmood Ismail, who was sentenced to 22 years for conspiracy to import Class A drugs has been ordered to hand over his illegal profits of £209,354.67. The Judge at Sheffield Crown Court ordered if he doesn’t pay within three months he will receive a three year default sentence to be served concurrently. The investigation began in 2011 when UK Border Agency officers stopped and searched an Audi A4 cabriolet at Dover Eastern Docks. During the search of th…

Return to News20 May 2016 An Iraqi man suspected of heading a criminal network that smuggled hundreds of migrants into the UK has been arrested by National Crime Agency officers. Rekawt Kayani, aged 34, was apprehended on a European Arrest Warrant at his home address in the Normanton area of Derby on Wednesday morning. Kayani, who was one of three men detained as part of a joint investigation with the French OCRIEST, now faces extradition to France. It is alleged Kayani organised numerous smuggling runs including one in June 2015 when 68 migrants were found inside four lorries at the Harwich International Port. Thirty five of the migrants were from Afghanistan, 22 fro…

Return to News20 May 2016 Three men who smuggled millions of pounds worth of heroin in to the UK hidden in furniture have been given prison sentences totalling 33 and a half years. Investigators were called in after Port Police, Merseyside and Border Force officers searched a shipping container which arrived at Royal Seaforth Docks in Liverpool from Pakistan on 18 April 2012. The container appeared to be loaded with household furniture but further examination found that 8kg of heroin had been concealed within boxes of tables. The furniture was delivered to Mohammed Naiem Yaqub, 34, from Nelson, Lancashire at a storage unit in Hendon Mill on 14 May 2012. Investigators …

Home News Most wanted fugitive brought back to UK Return to News 6 May 2016 Merseyside fugitive David McDermott who lost his extradition fight after being captured in Ghana has been returned to the UK. The 42-year-old was brought back by National Crime Agency officers yesterday on a flight which landed at Heathrow Airport. He is due to appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court later today. McDermott, who featured in the Operation Captura fugitive campaign, is suspected of being a member of a Liverpool-based organised crime group involved in a conspiracy to import and supply 400 kilos of cocaine. The NCA investigation into the drug seizure from a container of frozen Ar…

Home News Deputy head teacher to face time behind bars Return to News 5 May 2016 A deputy head teacher from Ealing, who pleaded guilty to possessing, showing and making indecent images of children has been sentenced to 33 months in prison today at Blackfriars Crown Court. Peter William Allott, 36, from Marchwood Crescent in Ealing was arrested in December 2015 by officers from the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command. He was identified after intelligence was received that an individual had been using video conferencing facilities to share indecent images of children (IIOC) with others around the UK. At the time of his arrest Peter Allott was the Deputy Head at St…

Return to News05 May 2016 Three women have been safeguarded and three individuals arrested in Nigeria as part of an international operation targeting criminal networks involved in the trafficking of human beings across Europe. The National Crime Agency led the operation in Lagos at Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), alongside officers from UK Border Force and Immigration Enforcement to disrupt the transit routes of trafficking groups to the UK and other European countries. Working in conjunction with Nigeria’s Joint Border Task Force (JBTF), officers targeted a number of specific flights from MMIA and several passengers were selected for screening. Three Ni…

Return to News05 May 2016 A former school teacher was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for offences relating to the possession of indecent images of children and extreme pornography. National Crime Agency officers arrested Caroline Parry,45, from Middlesborough, in September. She was found to be in possession of 20 category A and B images of child sexual abuse and extreme pornographic films and images. At the time of her arrest, Parry was employed as Head of English at Bishopsgarth School in Stockton. The offences are not related to the school or its pupils. As well as serving 18 months in prison, Parry is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. His Honour J…

Home News Son of South Wales drug trafficker arrested Return to News 05 May 2016 A 32-year-old man from Blaina suspected of being a member of the same organised crime group as his father has been arrested in Ibiza Nicholas Strange was apprehended by Guardia Civil officers on Tuesday after receiving intelligence from the National Crime Agency that he was living on the island. Strange, who is wanted by the NCA in connection with the large scale supply of class A drugs and money laundering, was detained on a European Arrest Warrant. Extradition proceedings are now underway after he appeared at court in Madrid yesterday. His father, Neil Strange, aged 61, was arr…