National Crime Agency (NCA)

Home News Paramilitary Crime Task Force obtains property freezing order Return to News 15 January 2018 Officers from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force have obtained a Property Freezing Order over a Newtownabbey property under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This is the first use of such powers by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. The Police Service of Northern Ireland, HM Revenue & Customs and the National Crime Agency have established the Paramilitary Crime Task Force to tackle criminality linked to paramilitarism as part of the Executive's action plan on Tackling Paramilitary Activity, Criminality, and Organised Crime. NCA Branch Commander Billy Beattie said: “…

Return to News15 January 2018 A cyber criminal has admitted running a product-testing service for hackers following a joint investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and cyber security firm Trend Micro. Goncalo Esteves, 24, of Cape Close, Colchester, Essex, ran the website reFUD.me, which allowed offenders to test, for a fee, whether their malicious cyber tools could beat anti-virus scanners. Under the pseudonym KillaMuvz, he also sold custom-made malware-disguising products and offered technical support to users. He pleaded guilty to two computer misuse offences and a count of money laundering at Blackfriars Crown Court. Esteves called his encryption tools …

Home News Teenager attempted to buy explosives to kill parents Return to News 12 January 2018 A 19 year-old man from Wolverhampton has been jailed for eight after he tried to import explosives from the dark web in an attempt to kill his parents. Gurtej Randhawa of Grove Lane, Wightwick was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Armed Operations Unit (AOU) in May 2017, after he took delivery of a package he thought was a remote-detonated explosive device. Intelligence indicated Randhawa had attempted to purchase a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) – or a car bomb - with the intent to take the life of his parents, after his mother di…

Return to News 6 January 2017 A child sex offender has been jailed for a sustained campaign to solicit indecent images of boys which saw him approach thousands of children. Patrick McDonald, 23, of Crumlin, Northern Ireland was yesterday sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison at Reading Crown Court yesterday following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation. Speaking at the court, Judge Grainger said McDonald had targeted “thousands of children”, adding: “The scale of the offending was breathtaking.” The NCA are working with the police to identify and safeguard the children targeted by McDonald, who was also placed on the sex offender's register for life an…

Return to News5 January 2017 Four men have been jailed after pleading guilty to the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition following an investigation by the National Crime Agency’s Armed Operations Unit (AOU). Ali Adnam Khan from Hartman Place, Bradford and Ikhlaq Hussain from Chesham Fold Road, Bury, Greater Manchester – both 29 – were arrested on the 16 December 2016 in the New Leeds area of Bradford, following a police pursuit after the vehicle they were driving failed to stop during which a number of Police vehicles were rammed. 
During the chase, a Walther handgun loaded with seven rounds of ammunition and 46 separate rounds of 9mm ammunition were thrown …

Home News NCA’s ‘Invisible People’ exhibition launches Return to News 5 January 2018 A touring photographic exhibition which portrays the signs of slavery and exploitation has been launched in London. Entitled ‘Invisible People’, the exhibition will tour the country as part of the National Crime Agency’s campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking. Slavery was abolished in the UK in 1807 yet more than 200 years on it still exists. Modern slavery is a crime which seeks out the most vulnerable men, women and children and abuses them for criminal profit. Exploitation is in our communities. Sometimes it is right before our eyes and yet we d…

Return to News30 December 2017 MBE ‘is wonderful surprise’ AN officer has spoken of her pride at being recognised for her work in fighting economic crime – at an early point in her law enforcement career. Emma Smith – who joined the NCA from the Home Office in 2014 – said she was stunned to hear she had received the MBE in the New Year Honours list, for her work in creating an innovative intelligence sharing capability between law enforcement and the financial sector, which has led to over 80 arrests. She added: “I originally joined the agency on secondment and have only been in the public sector for the last six years – it is wonderful to receive this award. “…

Return to News21 December 2017 Owen Mounsey, who was 16 at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to the offences at Belfast Crown Court today following a joint investigation by the National Crime Agency and PSNI. Mounsey, now 18, was arrested at home in 2016 by NCA and PSNI officers who seized his mobile phone, computer and two USB sticks. Almost a third of the 822 images forensic analysts found on the devices were in the most serious category. Mounsey downloaded images and the manuals from the internet but also solicited images from boys during social media conversation. Mounsey would ask for pictures of his victims in various states of undress, sometimes off…

Home News Further arrests in Operation Stovewood Return to News 21 December 2017 Three men aged 37, 41 and 46 have been arrested this week as part of the National Crime Agency’s independent investigation into child sexual exploitation and abuse in Rotherham and Manchester. The men, all from Rotherham, were arrested on suspicion of indecent assault and gross indecency with a child under 16 and have been released under investigation. To date, 38 individuals have been arrested, 18 have been charged and three have been convicted. Officers are engaging with 253 victims and there are currently 34 investigations ongoing under the Operation Stovewood umbrella, which is loo…

Return to News19 December 2017 Ten members of a criminal group which smuggled drugs and money the length of the UK were yesterday imprisoned for a total of 31 years at Liverpool Crown Court following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation. Above, from left to right: Jamie Hughes, Alistair Welding, Matthew Morgan, Michael Longworth, David Whalley. Below, from left to right: Kevin Smith, Richard Hunt, Alan Oliver, John Ellis, Daljeet Singh Juttla The group was led by Jamie Hughes, 37, of Warrington, and operated out of the North West of England. Members delivered bulk loads of drugs to clients in locations from Scotland to London in vans with hidden compartme…

Home News Seven years in prison for drug trafficker who went on the run Return to News 19 December 2017 A man who went on the run after he attempted to smuggle cocaine to the UK in a light aircraft has been sent to prison. Jason Waterman from Watford in Hertfordshire was wanted in connection with the importation attempt which led to the recovery of around seven kilos of the drug, worth around £1.2m, at Bagby airfield near Thirsk in North Yorkshire in October 2015. The 33-year-old, whose nicknames include Jugs and Jumbo, had been on board an aircraft that had just flown into the airfield. As Border Force officers arrived on the scene to carry out checks on the pl…

Return to News Career criminal Paul Stellato has been convicted of trying to buy three fragmentation grenades after an NCA investigation. The 46-year-old used the dark web to order the fragmentation grenades from a vendor and import them to the UK. Stellato – who was jailed for 10 years in 1998 for arson with intent to endanger life – sent an image of an explosive to an associate, asking: “If I add shrapnel will it do a hole in a house?” On 23 November 2016 Stellato, using the online profile ‘cocaineking247’, contacted the seller on the now closed-down AlphaBay market, asking if the advertised hand grenades could be delivered to the UK. Two days later St…

Return to News12 December 2017 A Barclays bank employee has been jailed for six years and four months for his role in a conspiracy to launder over £2.5 million, which had been stolen using Dridex malware. Jinal Pethad, aged 29, from London, acted as ‘personal bank manager’ to money launderers Pavel Gincota and Ion Turcan, setting up 105 sham bank accounts for them using false ID documents. He managed the accounts to ensure that receipt of the stolen funds was not blocked by the bank’s security processes and that the pair could transfer money between them freely. Gincota and Turcan were jailed for the conspiracy in October 2016 after an investigation by the National Cr…

Home News National Economic Crime Centre announced Return to News 11 December 2018 The Home Secretary has today announced the creation of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) within the NCA. The multi-agency centre will plan, task and coordinate operational responses across agencies bringing together the UK’s capabilities to tackle economic crime more effectively. Supported by enhanced intelligence and analytical capabilities it will draw together expertise from across Law Enforcement Agencies, Government and the private sector. Deputy Director Nigel Kirby for the NCA said "The NECC aims to bring together the knowledge and skills of the UK’s law enforcement ag…

Return to News 5 December 2017 National Crime Agency investigators are appealing for information to trace a man they want to speak to in connection with a number of large-scale drug importations. The appeal follows the seizure of 40kgs of cocaine found in a van by Border Force officers based at Coquelles in June 2017. If cut and sold the drugs would have had a likely potential street value of £4.8 million. The haul was concealed in a false floor inside freight crates and was destined for a freight forwarding company based near Manchester Airport. Investigators have identified 118 previous consignments which made exactly the same journey previously. Each time the…