Drug smuggler's jail term extended over firearms plot in UK

London, Jan 6 (PTI) A drug smuggler jailed as the gang leader behind the import of heroin from Pakistan to Britain had his prison sentence extended on Tuesday after the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) dismantled his "cynical" firearms plot to trick the authorities.  Ameran Zeb Khan, 47, was found to have conspired with members of the Birmingham-based gang he controlled to acquire a self-loading handgun and ammunition.  The NCA investigation discovered that Khan had hoped to buy up to 20 firearms as part of a plot devised from prison in the hope of cutting down his 22-year prison term.  Khan led a group of drug smugglers jailed for a total of almost 140 years back in July 2017 after attempting to import 10 million pounds worth of heroin from Pakistan to the UK, via London Gateway Port in 2014.

"Ameran Khan tried to concoct a plan to win an early ticket to freedom. It was a cynical plot designed to trick the authorities into thinking he was offering valuable intelligence about the purchase and transfer of highly dangerous weapons,” said Paul Boniface, NCA Operations Manager.  “These would have had terrifying consequences for the public, as illegal firearms only serve to intimidate, incite violence and damage communities. This case also demonstrates that the trades in Class A (banned) drugs and firearms are often intrinsically linked.  "Preventing access to illegal firearms remains a priority for the NCA and its partners, as well as the prosecution of those responsible for and involved in their supply and control at all levels,” he said.  The court heard that Khan shared a prison cell with his nephew and lieutenant, 29-year-old Sarweeth Rehman, and they communicated with three men on the outside – brothers Khaibar Rahman, 28, Akbar Rahman, 43, and Ahmed Hussain, 29.  Khan was planning to buy firearms and used an illicit mobile phone acquired by Rehman within the prison system to look up terms such as "38 special handgun", "Mac 9 2018 gun", "UK police airport gun" and "AK74".  “The pair devised code words such as ‘cars’, ‘car parts’, ‘makeup’ and ‘pineapples’ to represent various firearms, other weapons and ammunition as part of communication with other gang members," the NCA stated.  “They also used the phone to research the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005, which offered the prospect of a reduced prison sentence in exchange for intelligence on matters of interest to law enforcement," it noted.  Khan, jailed for 22 years for his Pakistani drug smuggling operation, had hoped intelligence he offered on the firearms and ammunition would persuade authorities to reduce the sentence by around 10 years under the terms of the SOCPA. He and Rehman intended to pass on details of the firearms supply to NCA officers.  The investigation found that official prison landline phones were used to communicate with Khan’s wife, 45-year-old Gulshan Ara, between July and September 2018. It emerged that this was to instruct the Rahman brothers on how to buy the weapons.  Ara, later charged with participating in criminal activities with an organised crime group, also communicated with Rehman when he obtained another illicit phone after moving to a different prison.  In September 2018, NCA officers seized the converted blank-firing handgun and 16 rounds of 8mm ammunition from a car which was stopped at Small Heath area of West Midlands, England.  The driver, 28-year-old Iqrar Zamir, was arrested for possession of firearms and ammunition and subsequently convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment in early 2019.

Analysis of his mobile phone showed that he had communicated with Hussain and Akbar Rahman before being arrested. The NCA, working with West Midlands Police, arrested all those involved in the conspiracy outside the prison system in September 2021.  Khan, Sarweeth Rehman and the Rahman brothers pleaded not guilty to firearms and ammunition offences during hearings at Birmingham Crown Court. They changed their pleas to guilty in October 2024, just before they were due to stand trial.   Khan and Rehman were both sentenced to an extra six years behind bars this week.

The Rahman brothers were both sentenced to six years and eight months imprisonment, and Hussain was jailed for five years. PTI AK ZH ZH ZH