Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Asian drug dealer known as 'starkcake' jailed for 18 years

Heemal Vaid has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for orchestrating the import and distribution of cocaine and heroin worth over £4 million.

Asian drug dealer known as 'starkcake' jailed for 18 years

Heemal Vaid (Photo: NCA)

A 49-year-old Asian drug dealer who masterminded the import and sale of cocaine and heroin worth more than £4 million has been jailed for 18 years, after National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators identified him from secret phone messages.

British Indian Heemal Vaid, of Cheam, used EncroChat – an encrypted phone service for criminals – to broker deals, unaware that in 2020, an international law enforcement team would crack EncroChat’s encryption.


Thousands of unattributed messages exchanged by Vaid under the pseudonym “Starkcake” were passed to the NCA, which led Operation Venetic – the UK’s response to the takedown of EncroChat by international colleagues.

Investigators pored through the messages, subsequently identifying that Starkcake arranged for 96 kg of cocaine, worth £3.6m, to be imported from Brazil over a month in 2020, and for further amounts of up to 15 kg to be imported from the Netherlands every week.

The messages revealed that Starkcake was also arranging the supply of 20 kg of heroin and one kg of cocaine in the UK.

Lead investigating officer Luke Seldon said: “As investigators painstakingly examined each of Starkcake’s messages, it became clear that he was a linchpin in the criminal world. Starkcake had links to drug suppliers overseas and those selling potentially fatal substances on UK streets. His messages also revealed he was a professional money launderer, managing and hiding millions of pounds that he and others made from crime.”

Investigators found clues to Starkcake’s real-life identity in his messages, pairing these with cell site and financial data to verify it was Vaid.

One message to Starkcake indicated that criminal cash had been paid into the account of “H Vaid,” which investigators identified as corresponding with a transaction on Vaid’s bank account.

Officers also identified that Vaid made a payment at a café in Dubai around the time Starkcake told an associate he was in the country.

Investigators gathered cell site data that showed Vaid’s movements correlated with conversations about Starkcake’s whereabouts.

In one case, data indicated that Vaid was at a river near his then-home after Starkcake told an associate he was going for a riverside walk. Investigators subsequently arrested Vaid at his home address in April 2024.

Evidence gathered by investigators was so compelling that Vaid pleaded guilty to 12 charges related to drugs and proceeds of crime, as well as a count of conspiracy to blackmail, relating to threats he made to a debtor.

Seldon added, “Vaid attempted to fly under the radar by using an encrypted phone and getting others to do his bidding, but he underestimated the capability and tenacity of investigators.

“By taking a pivotal person like Vaid out of the service of organised crime groups, the NCA is disrupting the supply of the most dangerous drugs in the UK and removing the profit from ruining lives.”

(PTI)

More For You

migrant crossings

The man is suspected of using online platforms to advertise illegal boat crossings

AFP via Getty Images

Asian man held in Birmingham for advertising migrant crossings online

AN ASIAN man has been arrested in Birmingham as part of an investigation into the use of social media to promote people smuggling, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Monday (15).

The 38-year-old British Pakistani man was detained during an NCA operation in the Yardley area. He is suspected of using online platforms to advertise illegal boat crossings between North Africa and Europe.

Keep ReadingShow less
King Charles & Modi

King Charles III (L) poses with India's prime minister Narendra Modi (R) during an audience at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on July 24, 2025.

AARON CHOWN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

King Charles marks Modi’s 75th birthday with Kadamb tree gift

KING CHARLES III has sent a Kadamb tree as a gift to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on his 75th birthday on Wednesday (17).

The British High Commission in New Delhi announced the gesture in a social media post, noting that it was inspired by Modi’s “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” (One tree in the name of mother) environmental initiative. The sapling, it said, symbolises the shared commitment of the two leaders to environmental protection.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump hails 'unbreakable' US-UK bond in Windsor Castle speech

US resident Donald Trump and King Charles interact at the state banquet for the US president and First Lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, on day one of their second state visit to the UK, Wednesday September 17, 2025. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS

Trump hails 'unbreakable' US-UK bond in Windsor Castle speech

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Wednesday (17) hailed the special relationship between his country and Britain as he paid a gushing tribute to King Charles during his historic second state visit, calling it one of the highest honours of his life.

It was a day of unprecedented pomp for a foreign leader. Trump and his wife Melania were treated to the full array of British pageantry. Then, the president sang the praises of his nation's close ally.

Keep ReadingShow less
Police officers

Police officers stand guard between an anti fascist group and Tommy Robinson supporters during an anti-immigration rally organised by British anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, in London, Britain, September 13, 2025.

REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

UK defends France migrant returns deal after court blocks first removal

THE British government has defended its new migrant returns deal with France after a High Court ruling temporarily blocked the deportation of an Eritrean asylum seeker, marking an early legal setback to the scheme.

The 25-year-old man, who arrived in Britain on a small boat from France on August 12, was due to be placed on an Air France flight from Heathrow to Paris on Wednesday (17) morning. But on Tuesday (16), Judge Clive Sheldon granted an interim injunction, saying there was a “serious issue to be tried” over his claim to be a victim of trafficking.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian surgeon sentenced to six years for sexual assault

Dr Amal Bose. (Photo: Lancashire Police)

Asian surgeon sentenced to six years for sexual assault

AN ASIAN senior heart surgeon, who abused his position to sexually assault female members of staff, has been jailed for six years.

Dr Amal Bose, from Lancaster, was convicted of 12 counts of sexual assault against five colleagues at Blackpool Victoria Hospital between 2017 and 2022. He was cleared of two other charges.

Keep ReadingShow less