Raj Singh and Iqbal Waqas were working together to run an
organized crime group to buy and sell class A and B drugs and
firearms.
A leader of a crime gang, originating from India, was arrested in the UK, and is
given a sentence of eight years and 10 months of imprisonment. He had confessed
to drug smuggling and money laundering in a British court. The UK’s National
Crime Agency (NCA) said that its officers had proved that Raj Singh, 45, from
Surrey in south-east England worked together with Iqbal Waqas to run an
organized crime group who sells class A (cocaine) and B (ketamine) drugs and
firearms and were even involved in money laundering.
The duo had planned to launder money and export ketamine to Canada. Rajender
Singh Bassi had pleaded guilty to the charges of supplying cocaine and ketamine
and money laundering. He also admitted to have assaulted a police officer when he
was involved in a pub fight. He kicked the officer in the legs when she tried to
restrain him. His sentence includes 16 months for causing severe bodily damage
who needed significant medication and cannot return to the frontline duties due to
the injuries.
The NCA revealed information about the case this week after Iqbal was sentenced
to 12 years of imprisonment by the same court for supplying the same drugs and
prohibited firearms on Friday. The NCA caught the duo when they intercepted their
messages that were in an encrypted form through a system EncroChat. They were
not known by their real names in the app. Their handles were intercepted when the
app was taken down in 2020, the evidence was crucial for their arrests. The duo
were hald as a part of the NCA-led Operation Venetic, after the messages between
the two had revealed how significant their offences were.
Though Iqbal and Singh worked in London they had criminal connections in
different countries within Mainland Europe and further more. Like any other drug
dealers, they were toxic and responsible for causing very serious harm to the
society. They were peddling drugs and prohibited weapons without any idea what
kind of harm it is causing to the society. The safety and protection of the public,
drove the NCA to take action against them.
