National Crime Agency (NCA)

Congratulations to our five recipients who have been recognised in the New Year Honours List for their services to law enforcement. These honours are a testament to their contribution and commitment to protecting the public from serious and organised crime. #NYHonours

WARNING: This post contains references to child sexual abuse. Three men convicted in Belgium over their involvement in a major people smuggling ring have been arrested in the UK. The men – all Afghan nationals – were apprehended by NCA and Metropolitan Police officers in south London, Hertfordshire and Essex after warrants were issued for their arrest by Belgian courts. Prosecutors in Belgium say the trio's gang were involved in organising the transport of migrants from Afghanistan into western Europe. Many would eventually be put on small boats to the UK. The group also committed serious sexual offences against male migrant minors which they would video and use footage to blackmail the victims into criminality and further sexual abuse. NCA investigators supported the Belgian investigation for around two years, supplying intelligence and evidence to the Belgian Federal Police around suspected members of the network. Last month, a court in Antwerp convicted and sentenced the trio and 20 other members of the gang to a total of 170 years imprisonment, with sentences ranging from two to 18 years. They now face being returned to Belgium to serve their sentences and extradition proceedings have commenced. This operation shows that no matter where people smuggling gangs operate, we will find them and bring them to justice. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eq9DGYGK

❄️🎄Season’s greetings from all of us at the National Crime Agency. Wishing you a safe and happy festive season🎄❄️

Two drugs smugglers who attempted to import cocaine with a street value of £42 million into the UK have been jailed. NCA officers arrested Daniel Livingstone in May this year with 524 kilos of cocaine in his van outside a hotel in East Yorkshire. He had stayed the night in the hotel with two other men who conspired with him to smuggle the class A drug; Mark Moran and Colombian national Didier Tordecilla Reyes. Moran and Reyes had sailed an inflatable boat from the Hessle slipway before returning hours later with the drugs haul and unloading it at a beach near Easington caravan park. NCA officers observed Moran and Reyes ditch the boat on the beach after unloading a number of bags into the van. A jury at Hull Crown Court convicted Moran of conspiracy to import cocaine. Livingstone and Tordecilla Reyes admitted the same offence earlier this year. A fourth man was cleared by the jury. At the same court today, Moran was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and Livingstone to seven years and nine months imprisonment. Reyes is due to be sentenced at a later date. We are determined to do all we can to tackle the class A drugs threat activity, and protect the public from the horrific damage it causes our society. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epuwBiMX

💷 This festive season, don’t fall for fake “investment” opportunities. Criminals will present professional and credible-looking online adverts, send emails, and create websites to advertise fake investment opportunities. Learn how to spot the signs of #InvestmentFraud 👉 https://lnkd.in/eM9wRDV2 #12Frauds

🎉📣OUT NOW!!! 📣🎉 SARs In Action Issue 29 is available on the NCA website now https://bit.ly/3BBB9ym Featuring 🔹Trafficking in Human Beings: A call to action for the financial sector 🔹Company Formation Analysis 🔹Illicit Finance Public Private Threat Group; Hydroponics Cell 🔹2024 Global Financial Institutions Summit 🔹Tackling Economic Crime Awards 2024

WARNING: This post contains references to child sexual abuse. A man from Wales has been sentenced to nine years in prison after NCA investigators proved he had been paying for the live streamed abuse of children. Stephen Lane was brought to the attention of the NCA following the arrest of an individual in the Philippines who had been facilitating child abuse. Lane had made three payments totalling around 5750 Filipino Pesos. In messages sent between 22 March and 7 April 2023, he queried the ages of children in explicit images, and asked to view content involving an eight-year-old in exchange for payment. On 25 May 2023, NCA officers arrested Lane at his home address and seized a number of devices. After caution, he stated “I know it’s wrong”. In messages sent before and during video calls, he repeatedly voiced concerns about value for money, refusing to pay before seeing and confirming the ages of the children on screen. On several occasions, he directed the abuse of children via the chat function. Lane admitted a string of child sexual offences including paying for sexual services of a child and causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child. Today, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. The facilitators in the Philippines have been arrested and the children involved safeguarded. Today’s result demonstrates our resolve to pursue those who pose a sexual risk to children, and our commitment to joint work with international counterparts in the Philippines to ensure they face justice. Full story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eTJeemxC

A senior member of an organised crime group (OCG) that ran an amphetamine lab in Scotland, and trafficked heroin and cocaine, has been sentenced following a NCA investigation. Colin Wright was arrested by the Spanish National Police in March this year at the request of the NCA, and extradited to the UK on 4 October. Wright had travelled to Spain to avoid capture after NCA officers apprehended fellow OCG members in March 2021. He was the head of the OCG's Scottish arm, and was actively involved in the supply of cocaine and heroin in both Scotland and England. He is the final member of the OCG to be sentenced, with six others now serving jail terms. Wright helped ship at least 20 kilos of cocaine and 10 kilos of heroin, with the former moved from Merseyside to Motherwell and the latter in the opposite direction. The lab was also capable of producing 1,000 kilos of amphetamine. He pleaded guilty to five drugs charges at Liverpool Crown Court on 1 November and was sentenced to 13 years and four months imprisonment at the same court today. His sentencing means that we have completely dismantled this organised crime group, who posed a grave danger to communities in Scotland and Merseyside, with the drugs they trafficked helping to fuel violence and exploitation in these areas. Read the full story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eXCPA4Nb

🎄 Let’s enjoy a #FraudFreeXmas 🎄 Action Fraud has launched a Christmas campaign, revealing 12 fraud types to look out for throughout the festive season. Today, we're focusing on romance fraud. The effects of romance fraud can be incredibly harmful to victims, often resulting in financial and emotional harm. In our fraud issue of SARs In Action, we feature an article from the UKFIU SARs Enquiry and Action Team who provide advice on potential indicators that you or someone you know may experience as a victim of this crime and advice for reporters on how to provide information regarding this type of fraud when submitting a SAR to the UKFIU. To read the full article in issue 20, click here bit.ly/44O94xE #12Frauds

#ICYMI Two men, including the son of crime boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh, have been sentenced for their roles in an elaborate firearms plot he orchestrated in a bid to reduce his prison term. Jack Kavanagh and Peter Keating were part of a trusted group who obtained guns and ammunition in hope that by burying the weapons, Thomas Kavanagh would be able to lead officers to them and negotiate a lesser sentence for his crimes. In reality, NCA officers had seen their Encrochat conversations and uncovered the role each man had played in the conspiracy. Jack Kavanagh was handed three years and one month, and Keating received four years and eight months. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eyC8Cdza