Organised crime group members jailed for multi-million pound drug conspiracy – Buckinghamshire

Members of a High Wycombe-based organised crime group that trafficked hundreds of kilos of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine throughout the UK have been jailed for a total of 108 years and two months.

Ringleaders Sandeep Rao, 47, and Shazhad Hussain, 50, led the multi-million-pound business, controlling a national supply network of class A drugs. They negotiated the purchase and sale of drugs on a commercial scale using encrypted EncroChat phones which they believed could not be intercepted by law enforcement agencies. 

The organised crime group (OCG) operated from a safe house in Rutland Street, High Wycombe where drugs were stored and vast quantities of money were counted on three cash counting machines. The group avoided detection during lockdown by operating under the cover of a courier service using vehicles installed with secret compartments to hide the drugs and cash, and employing women who were less likely to be stopped.

The South East Regional Organised Crime unit began its investigation into the OCG in April 2020 after international law enforcement accessed the encrypted phone network and provided UK authorities with data obtained from EncroChat devices.

The vast scale of the drug conspiracy and the roles played by associates of Rao and Hussain soon became apparent. 

Forty-eight-year-old Edwin Kapoor deputised for Rao and Hussain, arranging drug supplies, cash collections and payments for drivers. Raj Seechurn, 41, was one of the group’s couriers who made multiple journeys across the UK every week; on 14 May 2020 police in West Yorkshire stopped him and seized seven kilos of cocaine with a street value of over £250,000. Hardev Thind, 44, was a courier and also helped launder the proceeds of the drug sales. Fifty-three-year-old Azher Hussain had a significant role in laundering, counting and caretaking the cash at the safe house, while Angela Harvey, 39, was involved to a lesser extent in these activities. Thirty-three-year-old Iain Harper was a regional dealer who bought drugs from the group and supplied them to users.

Following their arrests in 2020, Sandeep Rao, Shahzad Hussain, Edwin Kapoor, Raj Seechurn, Hardev Thind, and Iain Harper were all charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Along with Azher Hussain and Angela Harvey, they were also charged with possessing criminal property.

All the group members pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them. 

Lawyer Rebecca Waller for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This multi-million pound drug conspiracy involved a national network dealing in more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine and 50 kilos of heroin, handling £23 million in proceeds from their crimes. 

“The Crown Prosecution Service and the police painstakingly built a case using evidence from phone messages and photos, CCTV, phone location data and account ledgers to prove each member’s involvement in this major drug trafficking operation.

“The result is that a significant national drug network has been dismantled, and those who ran it are now in jail where they can no longer supply dangerous drugs that destroy lives.”