Three members of an organized crime group of Indian origin have been jailed for smuggling cannabis worth around £1million.
Posted Date – 12:37 PM, Wednesday – 5/10/23
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London: Three members of an organized crime syndicate of Indian origin have been jailed for smuggling cannabis worth around £1m from Canada to Britain, police say.
Kuran Gill, Jag Singh and Govind Bahia, all in their 30s, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import “Class B” drugs and were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court, Kent Police said.
In February 2021, Border Force officers found two trays of cannabis in a shipment of computer casings at Heathrow Airport.
The drugs, worth around £1 million, have been flown in from Canada and will be delivered to a business address in Dartford.
According to Kent Police, detectives were able to link the shipment to members of a criminal network that had been arranging the import of cannabis over an illegal encrypted mobile phone platform that international law enforcement cracked in spring 2020.
“The cracking of the EncroChat mobile platform has resulted in numerous criminals being caught red-handed and brought to justice,” Detective Inspector Steve Brown, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Service, said in a release last week.
Kuran Gill, 32, from Sun Marsh Way in Gravesend, organized the importation and subsequent distribution of cannabis and also facilitated the sale of a kilo of cocaine.
Following his arrest in April 2021, police seized around £105,000 in cash from his home address.
Jill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import “Class B” drugs, conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Jag Singh, 32, who lives on The Boulevard in south-west London, was also involved in organizing the importation and distribution of cannabis.
Using the “Real Crocodile” chat handle, he exchanged multiple messages with Gill in which they openly discussed routes into the country, ways to hide the drugs and how much they cost.
Singer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import a Class B drug and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
Govind Bahia, 30, of Tennyson Walk, Gravesend, assisted Jill with advice and guidance on the type and amount of cannabis to buy.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import a Class B drug and was jailed for three years. The drugs were seized as part of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Agency investigation.
“Organized gangs across Europe think they can openly discuss their criminal activities, not realizing that the system is not as secure as they think and that every message they send brings them one step closer to prison,” Brown said.
