A brazen drug dealer who flaunted his wealth while selling blocks of cocaine stamped with the word VISA has been jailed.
Sikander Ali, 33, flogged £560,000 (over $730,000) worth of cocaine using the notorious EncroChat encrypted mobile phone network.
Ali was a wholesale purchaser of the drug, who would then sell to other dealers in the West Midlands.
Ali used the name ‘Buckglove’ on EncroChat which he used to communicate with other dealers.
An examination of Ali’s messages described at one point having 10kg available.
Boasting about the quality of the drugs, he wrote: “U won’t have any complaints, it’s proper.”
Images show him posing with a flash Patek Philippe watch and a Mercedes G-Class SUV, as he flaunted his wealth.
Another picture shows a block of cocaine embossed with VISA – a reference to the credit card giant.
Police were alerted to Ali’s ‘Buckglove’ identity during a separate investigation into another crime gang who were plotting a man’s murder.
Ali, of Yardley, Birmingham, was arrested as he tried to fly to Dubai from Birmingham Airport in January last year.
He admitted conspiracy to supply 14kg of cocaine worth £560,000 and transferring a firearm, namely a .38 handgun.
A court heard each 1kg block was worth between £37,000 and £40,000.
He admitted borrowing a .38 handgun from another EncroChat user for his protection and driving around Birmingham carrying the weapon.
At one point, he tried to buy it from the owner, who refused, telling Ali: “Bro if it was that easy I wouldn’t ask you for it back it’s not like there 38s all around the place like a sweet shop.”
Ali was jailed for nine-and-a-half years for drug offenses when he appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (23/8).
He was sentenced to a further four years, to be served consecutively, for the firearms offense.
In the spring of 2020, French police managed to hack into the secret phone network EncroChat.
With access to millions of messages sent from inside the world’s criminal network, they shared this data with relevant forces across Europe, including UK police forces.
It led to cops working around the clock, spending up to 20 hours a day trawling through the astonishing conversations of Britain’s drug lords, in scenes akin to a modern-day version of TV drama The Wire, where detectives wire-tapped notorious dealers.
Detective Inspector Matt Marston, of West Midlands Police Major Crime Unit, said:
“Like a large number of other criminals around the world, Ali thought that using EncroChat meant he could operate above the law.
“Like so many others, he was wrong.
“His messages revealed a criminal operation, spreading misery through the buying and selling of Class A drugs.
“Ali is clearly someone who had no qualms about borrowing and carrying a deadly firearm to protect him from others in the criminal underworld.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
