Indian-origin drug dealer jailed for 20 years in UK

An Indian-origin drug dealer has been jailed for 20 years by a court in north-west England for plotting a range of firearms and drugs offences. Naginder Gill, 47, used the handle ‘indianoceon’ on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat in the plot involving 59-year-old Carl Ian Jones, and 29-year-old Harly Wise.

While Jones was handed a 30-year sentence, Wise was jailed for 25 years at a sentencing hearing at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered Jones, Wise and Gill had been in discussions to trade military-grade weapons using EncroChat.

“These men are extremely dangerous offenders, and the streets are safer now that they’re in prison,” said Jon Hughes, branch commander at NCA. “We’ve seen in recent years that entirely innocent victims can be tragically caught in the crossfire of feuding organised crime groups. Drugs and firearms crimes are often interconnected. The NCA will continue to work with partners at home and abroad to protect the public from these threats,” he said.