London (UK): An Indian-origin drug dealer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in north-west England for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy involving illegal firearms and narcotics, authorities said.
Naginder Gill, 47, was convicted alongside Carl Ian Jones, 59, and Harly Wise, 29, after investigators uncovered their activities on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat. Gill used the handle “indianoceon” to coordinate criminal dealings with the other two men, according to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
At a sentencing hearing held at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday, Jones was handed a 30-year jail term, while Wise received a 25-year sentence. The court was told that the trio had discussed trading military-grade weapons and large quantities of banned drugs over EncroChat, a platform widely used by organised crime groups before it was dismantled by law enforcement in 2020.
The NCA revealed that the conversations came to light following Operation Venetic, a major international crackdown that allowed investigators to access millions of encrypted messages. Evidence presented in court showed that Jones attempted to broker deals involving an AR15 assault rifle along with 50 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. He also sought help from criminal associates to store firearms he had hidden at a property he owned in Mallorca. Jones and Wise were further found to have discussed the trafficking of weapons including AK47 assault rifles and a Uzi submachine gun.
In a separate incident in May 2020, Wise arranged the sale of two 9mm handguns and 50 bullets to another EncroChat user, agreeing to carry out the exchange near Eltham in south London. Two additional men connected to that transaction were later sentenced to 12 years and six years in prison respectively.
Investigators also uncovered extensive evidence of large-scale drug trafficking. The NCA said officers analysed thousands of lines of EncroChat data detailing the daily movement of Class A and Class B drugs. Jones and Wise acted as facilitators, supplying drugs to criminal contacts for significant profits.
Jones, a resident of Greater Manchester who used the EncroChat handle “stalehead”, was convicted after trial on multiple firearms and drugs offences. Wise, from London, admitted to conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and methamphetamine, conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons, and conspiracy to kidnap. Gill, from the West Midlands, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply a range of controlled drugs.
Describing the outcome, NCA branch commander Jon Hughes said the convictions had removed extremely dangerous individuals from the streets and reduced the risk posed by organised crime networks. He added that drug trafficking and firearms offences are often closely linked, and warned that innocent members of the public can become victims of violent disputes between criminal groups.
