IN A significant bust, the City of London Police dismantled a large-scale pharmaceutical drug smuggling operation, leading to the sentencing of three individuals at Southwark Crown Court.
Salman Ansari, 33, of Wembley, received six years for 12 counts of drug possession with intent to supply (Class A, B, and C drugs), one count of conspiracy to supply Class C drugs, and money laundering. Waqas Saleem, also 33 and from Wembley, received a two-and-a-half-year sentence for the same charges. Juhi Ansari, 32, was sentenced to a suspended term with 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation for money laundering.
The operation, which originated from the illegal importation of drugs from India, saw over 1 million pills, weighing around 730 kilograms, seized, including tapentadol, tramadol, zolpidem, and nitrazepam—drugs linked to serious health risks due to their sedative effects.
Following a US Customs and Border referral in October 2020, City of London Police’s Serious Organised Crime Team (SOCT) traced packages back to Salman Ansari and Waqas Saleem.
SOCT coordinated with agencies like the FDA, US Homeland Security, and UK Border Force, leading to successful warrants in Vermont, USA, and additional arrests in July 2021. Their Wembley storage unit contained thousands of blister packs of unregulated drugs, and 175 items were seized.
Financial investigations revealed that Salman Ansari managed 11 bank accounts with a turnover of £1.09m, far exceeding his declared income. Funds were also transferred through cryptocurrency and sent to India.
Transactions between Salman Ansari, his wife Juhi, and Saleem totalled over £419,000, pointing to complex money laundering tactics.
City of London Police urged the public against purchasing unregulated pharmaceuticals due to health risks.
Special agent Fernando McMillan of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, New York, and Special Agent Michael J Krol of Homeland Security Investigations praised the international collaboration that helped dismantle the smuggling ring.
Davindra and Seema Misra, and Vijay and Gita Parekh
Varchas Patel with his father Vipin and mother Jayshriben
Hasmukh Shingadia and his wife Chandrika were all victims of the Horizon scandal
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)