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Singh, along with his accomplice Waqas Iqbal, 41, were involved in the purchase and sale of Class A drugs and guns.
A British court sentenced an Indian-origin gang boss, Raj Singh, to eight years and ten months in prison after he admitted to drug smuggling and money laundering charges. The National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK established that Singh, a resident of Surrey in south-east England, led an organized crime group, which regularly worked with Waqas Iqbal, 41, to buy and sell Class A drugs and firearms.
The duo also planned to launder money and send ketamine to Canada. Singh, whose full name is Rajinder Singh Bassi, pleaded guilty to charges of supplying Class A cocaine, conspiracy to supply Class B ketamine, and money laundering at the Guildford Crown Court in February.
Other Crimes
In addition to drug smuggling and money laundering charges, the Indian-origin gang boss, Raj Singh, was also convicted of assault in a separate matter. During a pub fight, he kicked a police officer’s leg as she attempted to restrain him. His sentence included 16 months for causing actual bodily harm to the officer, who sustained significant knee injuries and cannot return to front-line policing.
The NCA released details of the case after Raj Singh’s accomplice, Waqas Iqbal, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiracy to import Class A drugs, conspiracy to transfer a prohibited weapon, and money laundering. Both sentences were handed down at the Guildford Crown Court in southern England.
The Crime Scheme
According to Dean Wallbank, operations manager at the NCA, even though Waqas Iqbal and Raj Singh carried out their illegal activities in London, they had connections with criminals in various countries both within and outside Europe.
The NCA considers these high-level drug dealers as highly dangerous, causing significant harm to society without any regard for the consequences. Protecting the public from the dangers posed by firearms and Class A drugs remains a top priority for the NCA.
The NCA apprehended Iqbal and Singh by intercepting their encrypted messages on EncroChat, which revealed their intention to purchase and distribute Class A drugs and firearms. They used aliases such as “handles” instead of their real names on the platform, with Singh’s being “Salmonagent” and Iqbal’s “Ghostshooter”. The phone evidence obtained was instrumental in proving their involvement in firearms trafficking.