An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in north-west England for his role in a conspiracy involving firearms and drug offences.
Naginder Gill, 47, was convicted alongside Carl Ian Jones, 59, and Harly Wise, 29, following an investigation into their use of the encrypted communications platform EncroChat. Gill operated under the handle “indianocean," as per prosecutors. At a sentencing hearing at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday, Jones received a 30-year jail term, while Wise was sentenced to 25 years.
The UK’s National Crime Agency said the trio were engaged in discussions to traffic military-grade weapons, uncovered through intercepted EncroChat communications.
“These men are extremely dangerous offenders, and the streets are safer now that they’re in prison," Jon Hughes, branch commander at NCA, said, as cited by PTI.
The court was told that Jones attempted to broker a deal involving an AR15 assault rifle and 50 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. He also asked an associate to store firearms he had concealed at a property he owned in Mallorca, telling contacts that his girlfriend was “going mad”.
Jones and Wise discussed the trade of several other weapons, including AK47 rifles and an Uzi submachine gun.
In May 2020, Wise arranged the sale of two 9mm handguns and 50 rounds of ammunition to an EncroChat contact, agreeing to an exchange near Eltham in south London. Two additional men connected to that transaction were later sentenced to 12 years and six years in prison.
The National Crime Agency said investigators analysed thousands of lines of EncroChat data linked to Jones and Wise, which detailed the regular movement of Class A and Class B drugs. Both men acted as facilitators, transporting drugs to contacts and profiting from the difference between purchase and sale prices.
Gill, from the West Midlands, admitted his role in a conspiracy to supply a range of drugs, while Jones, from Greater Manchester, who used the EncroChat handle “stalehead”, was convicted at trial of multiple drugs and firearms offences.
Wise, who used the EncroChat handles “bluffcheatah” and “hungrykiller”, also admitted to conspiring to kidnap. He later admitted to conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and methylamphetamine, as well as conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons.
The National Crime Agency said EncroChat was dismantled in 2020 as part of the NCA-led Operation Venetic. Evidence obtained through the operation exposed how dangerous offenders had been using the encrypted platform to organise serious criminal activity.
