Due to allegations of cocaine possession and firearms, a Watford gang boss may spend up to 27 and a half years in prison.
Mohammed Waqas Khan, 35, was previously found guilty of conspiracy to provide cocaine, heroin, and ketamine, possession of guns with purpose to provoke fear of violence, and possession of ammunition. Today, April 26, at Luton Crown Court, Khan was given a lengthy prison sentence.
His Watford and Luton-based organised crime network was in charge of the country’s wholesale trafficking of heroin and cocaine.
According to the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), which investigated Khan, it involved a hierarchy of criminals including a lieutenant, couriers, and subordinates who stored drugs and firearms. ERSOU Detective Chief Inspector Steve Dowty said: “It is difficult to overstate the impact that dismantling this OCG will have had on
our communities. “This group of criminals imported enormous amounts of class A drugs into the UK, which will have caused widespread harm up and down the country both in terms of the medical effects of the substances as well as the wider criminality and exploitation associated with drug dealing.”
Because he lived in Dubai, Khan, of Princes Avenue, Watford, thought he was safe from UK law enforcement, according to the police. However, in March 2020, a COVID lockdown forced Khan to return to his Watford family home.
Operation Venetic, which was initiated about the same time, was able to provide a picture of his function as the group’s coordinator by uncovering thousands of messages sent by criminals using the EncroChat communications programme. The crooks used the handle Bigpablito.com.
Raids in April 2020 resulted in the simultaneous arrest of Khan and colleagues Mohammed Ahmed, Aris Saghir, and Zakir Farid. Additionally, cash, six weapons, 180 rounds of ammunition, and several kilogrammes of cocaine and heroin were recovered.
It was evident from their messages that they had probably brought in and distributed hundreds or maybe thousands of kilogrammes of illegal substances.
Michael Orishadare, 31, of New Hythe Lane, Aylesford, Kent, was found guilty of conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Orishadare utilised his connections in the Netherlands to bring drugs into the UK, mostly through Tilbury Docks.
The group has now received 83 and a half years in prison as a result of the two jail terms.
Individuals previously convicted consist of:
Mohammed Ahmed, 39, a storekeeper on Avondale Road in Luton, was in possession of several kilogrammes of cocaine in addition to six firearms and 180 rounds of ammunition. In November 2022, he was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison.
Mohammed Shergul Khan, 37, a courier and storekeeper from Dunstable Road, Luton, was taken into custody with 25 kg of MDMA, 23 kg of cocaine, and heroin. In November 2022, he was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison.
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