Five men have been jailed for their role in Class A drug supply and money laundering in Slough.

The criminal group were unearthed following an investigation by Thames Valley Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, which found that the men had been using an encrypted phone service to supply significant quantities of cocaine and launder the proceeds of drug deals worth millions of pounds.

Between May 2020 and August 2020, police conducted an investigation into the supply of Class A drugs in the Slough area. 

An Organised Crime Group were identified who were communicating through the encrypted phone network, EncroChat. This was to move approximately 98kg of cocaine and launder around £2.2 million of cash connected to the enterprise during a six-month period between December 2019 and June 2020. 

Officers investigated this OCG and arrested and charged these five individuals between June 2020 and August 2020.

Following this, the men pleaded guilty at various different stages over the past two years.

 On Friday, April 21 at a hearing at Reading Crown Court, Fariyaz Ahmed, aged 32, of Oakfield Avenue, Slough, was sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to money laundering.

At the same hearing Shayan Mir, aged 52, of Elmcroft Terrace, Uxbridge, was sentenced to six years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, namely cocaine.

Three others were sentenced as part of the same investigation at earlier hearings at Reading Crown Court.

On 18 November 2022, Hammad Din, aged 29, of Montague Road, Slough was sentenced to seven years and six months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and money laundering.

On 28 February 2022, Daniel Marshal, aged 28 of The Brambles, West Drayton, was sentenced to nine years and one month, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering.

At the same hearing, Tanwier Hussain, aged 50, of Westgate Crescent, Slough, was sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Zoe Hardy, said: “Our investigation has led to five men being given prison sentences of a total of 37 and a half years and we disrupted a significant drugs operation operating in Slough was dismantled with cash and drugs taken off the streets.  

“This investigation was part of the international takedown by the National Crime Agency, British police forces and Europol, of a network of Organised Crime Groups who were using the encrypted phone network Encrochat.

“Our officers received intelligence obtained from Encrochat from our international partners, which allowed us as a force to arrest these individuals and bring them to justice.

“Organised crime groups dealing drugs on our streets bring only misery and contributes greatly to violence and the exploitation of vulnerable people.

“We will continue to investigate those who see fit to engage in this damaging criminal activity and bring them to justice.”