'Dangerous' drug dealer sent to prison for 15 years

Naqash Ali was described as "a dangerous individual" by Bedfordshire Police

A cocaine dealer has been jailed for 15 years after admitting drugs and firearms charges.

Naqash Ali, 33, of Stirling Road, Luton, was caught in an international operation which investigated criminals' use of encrypted devices to organise drug deals and launder money.

Bedfordshire Police accessed Ali's device, which revealed he was communicating with drug and firearm suppliers.

He pleaded guilty at Luton Crown Court to two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and one count of conspiring to possess a firearm.

Bedfordshire Police said Ali was initially arrested in May 2020 in a vehicle linked to people suspected of being involved in a drugs conspiracy.

Three phones were recovered but, with no evidence of a crime having been committed, Ali was released without charge.

Further investigations by officers led to the discovery of the encrypted communications on one of the phones.

They were made using a supposedly uncrackable mobile messaging network called EncroChat, used by criminals to trade drugs and guns, which French and Dutch police penetrated and shared with international police forces in 2020.

An estimated 60,000 people - up to 10,000 of them in Britain - subscribed to the France-based system.

'Dangerous individual'

Ali's phone showed extensive involvement in the purchase and sale of multiple kilos of cocaine, and he was rearrested in 2023.

In a series of messages, Ali ordered 2kg of cocaine and asked whether he could pay £100,000 the following week.

In another conversation, he bragged about "having a deal line selling cocaine", said police.

He was sentenced to 15 years for the drugs offences and two years for the firearms offence, to be served concurrently.

Gary Hales, an officer with Bedfordshire Police's serious and organised crime team Operation Costello, said it was "a long and complex investigation".

"He was a dangerous individual who I’m glad is now behind bars for a substantial amount of time," he said.