Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

West London gang jailed for money laundering, people smuggling

The criminal network led by Charan Singh plotted to smuggle 17 Afghan migrants into Britain in the back of a van in 2019

West London gang jailed for money laundering, people smuggling

SIXTEEN members of a West London crime group involved in international money laundering and people smuggling have been jailed for up to 15 years.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers seized £1.5 million - believed to be proceeds of class A drugs sale and immigration crime - from the organised network led by its ringleader Charan Singh.

But analysis of data indicated that the gang was likely to have smuggled around £70m out of the UK between 2017 and 2019.

Investigators also discovered the gang’s plot to smuggle 17 Afghan migrants, including five children and a pregnant woman, into Britain in the back of a van in 2019.

The van carrying tyres was intercepted by Dutch police, who were working with the NCA, before it could reach a ferry at the Hook of Holland.

Charan Singh, from Hounslow, and other members of the crime group were arrested in west London in 2019 after weeks of surveillance and flight data analysis.

The gang leader, who had relocated from the UAE, paid for flights to Dubai for other members of the network to carry cash, Croydon Crown Court heard.

A ledger he maintained showed he and his couriers made at least 58 trips to Dubai during 2017 alone.

Charges were brought against 18 people after the NCA’s “long and complex investigation” which lasted for more than two years.

Charan Singh and five others were convicted of money laundering while six others later admitted to similar offences. Two other defendants were additionally convicted of facilitating illegal immigration along with a third individual.

On Friday (15), the court sentenced Charan Singh to a 12-and-a-half year jail term and his right hand man Valjeet Singh to 11 years of imprisonment. Charan Singh’s trusted lieutenant Swander Singh Dhal was handed a 15-year jail term - 10 years for money laundering and an additional five years for people smuggling.

Jasbir Singh Kapoor (nine years and six months), Jasbir Singh Dhal (seven years and six months), Diljan Singh Malhotra (six years), Mircea Denes (six years), Sundar Vengadassalm (10 months), Amarjeet Alabadis (one year and 11 months) and Jaginder Kapoor (three years and nine months) were also jailed.

Other members of the gang sent to jail are Jackdar Kapoor (four years and six months), Manmon Singh Kapur (four years), Pinky Kapur (11 months) and Jasbeer Singh Malhotra (one year and five months).

Two others - Louise Smith and Joe Round were handed suspended jail terms of 16 months and 12 months respectively.

Denes was sentenced in his absence as he absconded. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The NCA’s senior investigating officer Chris Hill said Charan Singh and his network, who thought they were “untouchable” moved “tens of millions of pounds of criminal cash out of the UK.”

More For You

Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Air India crash: Black box found as India investigates London-bound flight disaster

INVESTIGATORS have recovered the black box from the site of Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick airport went down shortly after takeoff, killing at least 265 people, including those on the ground.

The aircraft issued a mayday call shortly before crashing into a residential area around lunchtime. The plane had barely lifted 100 metres from the ground before it came down, with its tailpiece left protruding from the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi recalls 'shoulder to shoulder' bond with Vijay Rupani

Narendra Modi meets family members of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who died after an Air India plane carrying him and 241 others crashed in Ahmedabad. (@narendramodi via PTI Photo)

Modi recalls 'shoulder to shoulder' bond with Vijay Rupani

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to his longtime colleague Vijay Rupani, the former Gujarat chief minister who died in Thursday's (12) devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.

Speaking after meeting Rupani's family on Friday (13), Modi said it was "unimaginable" that his old friend was no longer with them.

Keep ReadingShow less
Iran-Israel-Getty

Smoke rises from a location allegedly targeted in Israel's wave of strikes on Tehran, Iran, on early morning of June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Israel strikes Iran nuclear sites, top military officials killed

ISRAEL carried out a series of airstrikes on Iran on Friday, targeting nearly 100 locations, including nuclear sites and military command centres. The strikes killed senior officials, including the armed forces chief and top nuclear scientists, according to Iranian reports.

In response, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would face a "bitter and painful" outcome. The Iranian military said there would be "no limits" to its response.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air-India-crash-site-Getty

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel inspect the site after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad, on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Air India crash: Rescue teams search site where at least 265 died

RESCUE teams with sniffer dogs searched the crash site on Friday after an Air India flight heading to London crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed on Thursday. One person survived the crash, which left the tail of the aircraft lodged in the second floor of a hostel housing medical staff from a nearby hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jamie and Fiongal Meek

Known for their calming presence and warm guidance

Instagram/ wellnessfoundry

Air India crash: Spiritual guides Jamie and Fiongal among victims

Jamie Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw‑Meek, both based in London, are believed to be among the victims of the Air India Express flight that crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.

The couple, well known within the UK’s spiritual and LGBTQ+ communities, had been travelling in India and had built a strong following through their work at The Wellness Foundry – a platform offering tarot readings, energy healing, and spiritual development. Their gentle presence and guidance had earned them deep respect from followers across the country.

Keep ReadingShow less