A drug smuggling gang who flooded Britain’s streets with £81million worth of cocaine have been jailed for a total of 65 years after police hacked into their EncroChat messages.
Redon Bushi, 32, from Brentford, west London, was found to be acting as the leader of the group over a number of years.
Investigations into his operation revealed the kingpin had been using encrypted communications platform EncroChat and Signal to discuss his drug enterprise.
Signal is similar to other secure messaging apps such as Telegram, whereas EncroChat was a communication service only accessible via modified ‘EncroPhones’ and primarily used by organised crime groups.
In 2020, Operation Venetic – a joint effort between the UK, France and the Netherlands – infiltrated the platform, leading to thousands of arrests since.
Bushi’s messages revealed he had conspired to supply a minimum of 832kg of cocaine, with a street value of up to £81,640,000, across London and the rest of the UK.
The kingpin, who acted under the username ‘Sealvermouth’, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and possessing criminal property at Kingston Crown Court.
Yesterday, he was sentenced to 24 years and 10 months in prison.
Redon Bushi, 32, was found to be acting as the leader of the group over a number of years
Pictured: One of the blocks of cocaine belonging to the gang embossed with the word ‘Rolex’
Signal is similar to other secure messaging apps such as Telegram, whereas EncroChat was a communication service only accessible via modified ‘EncroPhones’ and primarily used by organised crime groups
Bushi was only caught after Met detectives identified and arrested four other members of his gang by piecing together information from their EncroChat messages and hours of CCTV.
The gang boss had taken extra steps to protect his dodgy dealings, only providing the couriers with postcodes, times, and a vague description of the customer they would be dropping drugs to.
Other tactics used in an attempt to go under the radar included fake identity cards, a van with sophisticated concealment and a camera monitoring the location where they stored the drugs.
Despite his efforts, police managed to track down and arrest runner Ahmad Jabarkhill, 32, in June 2020 after stopping one of the vehicles belonging to Bushi’s couriers and found him carrying nearly £700,000 in cash.
Covert investigations and intelligence were then used to identify three more runners – Arline Sida, 23, Kelvin Hoxha, 23, and Luke Ferguson, 32.
In August 2023, Sida and Hoxha were both arrested at an address in Brentford where they were found to be in possession of six kilograms of cocaine.
Ferguson was then arrested at a ‘safe house’ in the same area and was found to be carrying 72kg of cocaine, worth an estimated street value of £6.24million.
A manhunt was then launched for Bushi who was evading officers by jumping between different hotels and directing others to check cameras at various addresses for any police snooping around.
Arline Sida (pictured), 23, from Amersham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on January 17, 2024 at Kingston Crown Court and was yesterday handed a sentence of 12 years and 9 months
Kelvin Hoxha (pictured), 23, from Brentford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and driving while disqualified on October 26, 2024 at Kingston Crown Court and was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months on Wednesday
Luke Ferguson (pictured), 32, from Shepherd’s Bush, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on November 21, 2024, at Kingston Crown Court and was jailed for 14 years and 5 months
He had also bought a new phone, different clothing, and was carrying over £3,000 in cash.
The gang leader was located and arrested a few days later in Reading.
Jabarkhill pleaded guilty to the possession of criminal property at Isleworth Crown Court on July 22, 2020, and was sentenced to two years and three months in jail on the same day.
Sida, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on January 17, 2024 at Kingston Crown Court and was yesterday handed a sentence of 12 years and 9 months.
Hoxha, from Brentford, west London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and driving while disqualified on October 26, 2024 at Kingston Crown Court and was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months on Wednesday.
Ferguson, from Shepherd’s Bush, west London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on November 21, 2024, at Kingston Crown Court and was jailed for 14 years and 5 months.
Detective Constable David Leitner, who led the investigation on behalf of the Met, said:
‘This case demonstrates our relentlessness in pursuing organised crime, while utilising the unprecedented opportunity that Encrochat represent to its fullest effect.
‘Bushi clearly believed that these messaging platforms protected him from law enforcement, but they only served to provide us the very evidence to convict him and his associates.
‘This shows the Met’s commitment to tackling offenders who are instrumental in supplying drugs to the streets of London.’
