National Crime Agency (NCA)

Home News Boost to law enforcement's operations against dark web criminality Return to News 11 April 2018 Law enforcement today received increased government funding to tackle cyber crime on the dark web. The £9m pot will be used to increase capability against the dark web in Regional Organised Crime Units. A further £5m has been allocated to police forces to tackle cyber crime locally. Ollie Gower, NCA deputy director and head of the agency’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: "The threat from cyber crime is growing in scale and complexity. Led from the centre by the NCA, UK law enforcement is increasing its activity and capability in response. "This financial year…

Return to NewsCRIMINALS are launching more online attacks on UK businesses than ever before, it has been revealed in a report published to mark the start of the country’s biggest cyber security conference. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, will today (April 10) welcome specialists from across government, industry and law enforcement to the start of their flagship CYBERUK 2018 summit in the Manchester Central Convention Complex. The Cyber Threat to UK Business Industry 2017-2018 report [link], jointly authored by the NCSC and the National Crime Agency (NCA) in collaboration with industry partners, has been published to mark the start of th…

Home News Head of drug smuggling crime group sought by NCA after jumping bail Return to News 9 April 2018 National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators are appealing for information to trace the head of an organised crime group who disappeared before standing trial for drugs offences. Richard Wakeling, 51, from Brentwood, was sentenced in his absence today to 11 years in prison for orchestrating the attempted importation of liquid amphetamine with a street value of around £8 million in April 2016. Three other men also stood trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, including Lesley Muffett, 59, who drove the lorry carrying the drugs, and gang members Stuart Davidson, 65, and …

Home News Drug trafficker picked up cocaine on Caribbean cruise Return to News 6 April 2018 A convicted drug dealer who used a three week Caribbean cruise as a cover to bring cocaine worth more than £200,000 into the UK has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency. Kevin Enright, 55, from Dunstable, was intercepted by Border Force officers as he disembarked a cruise liner at Southampton Docks on 31 October 2017. As they searched his luggage, they found traces of drugs within a false lining of two suitcases, one of which had been inside the other. In total, there was almost three kilos of cocaine, which if cu…

Return to News6 April 2018 Image: NCA officers search car in Oldham yesterday An international law enforcement operation has disrupted what is believed to be one of the most significant people smuggling networks operating between Iraq and the UK. National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested three suspected members of the group yesterday in the North West of England and Staffordshire. The 41-year-old man believed to be the head of the network was arrested at his home in Oldham, where officers seized £15,500 in cash. A 38-year-old man was arrested in Stoke on Trent and a 35-year-old man was arrested in the Newton Heath area of Manchester. At the Newton Heath property…

Return to NewsToday we have published our Annual Plan, setting out what we will do over the coming year to make the agency leaner, more efficient and deliver a step change in the way we work with our law enforcement and intelligence partners to fight serious and organised crime as one system. In the Home Secretary’s foreword to the Annual Plan, Amber Rudd praised the Agency’s performance, saying we have “gone from strength to strength with an impressive, and sustained, track record of disruptions across the full range of serious and organised crime threats.” The Director General echoed this in her statement, highlighting that the agency has delivered “some outstanding r…

Home News New Director Strategy appointed Return to News 4th April 2018 Alastair Whitehead, currently private secretary to the Prime Minister Theresa May, has been appointed as the new Director for Strategy at the National Crime Agency. This newly created post replaces the Corporate Strategy function and will report to Director General Capabilities Nina Cope. Nina Cope, Director General Capabilities, said: "I am delighted that Alastair is joining us and look forward to welcoming him to our top team. His experience working at the sharp end of government will bring a fresh perspective to a challenging new role." Alastair said, "I'm thrilled to be joining the seni…

Home News Teenager arrested over email threats to kill students Return to News 28 March 2018 On the evening of Wednesday 28 March, NCA and Hertfordshire Police officers arrested an 18-year-old man in the Abbots Langley area on suspicion of making malicious communications relating to the threatening emails received earlier today by a large number of schools and colleges throughout the UK. We understand these threats have caused considerable concern but we do not assess there to be an increased risk to the public. We believe this incident is linked to the hoax bomb threat that closed hundreds of UK schools last week. As this is a live investigation we are unable…

Home News Man charged in relation to alleged international anabolic steroid smuggling network Return to News 26 March 2018 A man has today been charged in connection with an alleged international network of illegal anabolic steroid smuggling. Jacob Sporon-Fielder, 37, a Mumbai-based Danish national, is due to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court tomorrow (Tuesday 27 March) charged with conspiracy to import and export a controlled Class C drug. A National Crime Agency investigation was launched in 2014 following the seizure of more than 630 kilos of anabolic steroids and prescription medicines by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport, destined for an address in…

Home News Jail for trucker who had heroin in spare wheel Return to News 26 March 2018 A man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after an investigation by the National Crime Agency into a seizure of heroin worth around £3 million. Lukasz Wojciech Mietelsk (below right)i, aged 35 and from Krasocin in Poland, was driving a freight vehicle from Poland to London when the vehicle was stopped and searched by Border Force officers in Dover on 2 November 2016. As they searched the vehicle’s trailer, officers discovered a spare wheel, which had packages concealed inside containing a brown powder. When tested, the powder was found to be heroin. 30 packages were seize…

Return to News The number of potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery reported to the authorities rose by more than a third, according to a new report released by the National Crime Agency today. The National Referral Mechanism end of year summary shows that in 2017 5145 potential victims were referred into the system, up from 3804 in 2016. And for the first time British citizens were the largest nationality recorded in the figures, up from 326 in 2016 to 819 in 2017. The increase in British numbers is largely down to an increase in minors being referred into the NRM as suspected victims of labour or sexual exploitation, up 66 per cent. This increase is due …

Return to News22 March 2018 A former Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to making and possessing indecent images of children following a National Crime Agency investigation. Thomas Wood, aged 55, from Southport, admitted accessing a video conferencing platform where videos of child abuse were being shown when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court. The NCA arrested Wood at Our Lady’s RC Presbytery in Lydiate, Merseyside, in March last year, following which he was subjected to police bail. He was removed from his post, and in January the NCA charged him. Forensic analysis of Wood’s devices uncovered chat logs from the video conferencing platform in which Wood made sexual…

Return to News22 March 2018 Thirty nine women have been freed from sexual exploitation at the hands of a Nigerian organised crime gang in Spain as a result of a joint operation involving the NCA and Spanish and Nigerian law enforcement partners. The international investigation into an organised criminal network known as the Eiye Confraternity began when a victim made a report to the Spanish authorities, detailing how she arrived in Spain along with a number of other girls. The victims, all Nigerian nationals, and many under the age of 18, are believed to have undergone ‘Voodoo-Juju’ rituals in Nigeria to coerce them if they did not comply with orders given by the gang …

Home News Teenager arrested over mass school bomb hoax Return to News 21 March 2018 A National Crime Agency spokesman said: “Hertfordshire police officers, working as part of an NCA-led investigation, arrested a 19-year-old man in Watford today on suspicion of blackmail and making malicious communications relating to the hoax bomb threat that closed hundreds of UK schools this week. “We understand parents’ and teachers’ concerns but stress there was no credible threat to the emails schools received. However we are taking the communications extremely seriously. “As this is now a live investigation we are unable to comment further.” Share this Page: View the f…

Return to News21 March 2018 The five members of prolific dark web drug dealing group have been jailed for a total of 56 years following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation. Londoners Basil Assaf, Elliot Hyams, Jaikishen Patel, all 26, and James Roden, 25 were students at Manchester University when they began selling drugs on the notorious Silk Road website. Junior member Joshua Morgan, 28, of Manchester, was paid to package drugs for the group. Silk Road, modelled on sites such as eBay and Amazon, was on a part of the internet known as the dark web and was used to sell a variety of illicit goods, though it was most well-known for drug sales. Led by Assaf, th…