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BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Drugs kingpins James Harding and Jayes Kharouti jailed
Two men who ran a multi-million pound drugs-smuggling operation have been jailed for life for plotting to murder a Harding, 34, from Alton in Hampshire, and his "loyal right-hand man" Jayes Kharouti, 39, from Epsom in Surrey, ran a vast criminal empire and imported £30m worth of cocaine into the were sentenced after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder following a trial at the Old Bailey. Harding had also been convicted of conspiring to import cocaine, which Kharouti, had messages showed them discussing recruiting a hitman to put an unnamed rival courier "permanently out of business". The pair's operation made £5 million in profit from importing drugs over 10 weeks in 2020 Police officers trawled through thousands of messages on encrypted communication service showed Harding and Kharouti planning to arm the hitman with a gun and ammunition for the "full M" - a data came from French police who broke the encryption code to the service favoured by the criminal messages showed the defendants discussing violence against anyone tempted to speak to the police about their drug one message, Harding said: "Bro u just have to know where their nan lives. They all love their nans. Then when they act up they know granny gonna get one in the head lol. Keeps them in check."In turn, Kharouti had threatened to arrange to "get a prisoner's head bust open" if he talked to the the time, Harding, who claimed to be a high-end watch sales executive, was living in luxury in Dubai, staying in five-star hotels and driving Bugatti and Lamborghini sports footage released by the police showed the moment he was arrested at Geneva airport in Switzerland on December 27 2021 and extradited to the was extradited from Turkey on 25 June 2024. Judge Anthony Leonard KC ordered Harding should serve a minimum term of 32 years and Kharouti at least 26 sentence, he said it was "hard to comprehend" the amount of cocaine imported and the profits would have been "very substantial"."Without the benefit of EncroChat your scale of offending would never have been apparent."The case formed part of a wider operation targeting criminals who used Ch Insp Jim Casey, from Scotland Yard, said the sentences reflected "the severity of the crimes the duo committed"."Following one of the largest EncroChat investigations in the Met's history, I am pleased that both criminals are serving the time they deserve." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Drug kingpins who plotted murder of rival jailed for life
A pair of drug kingpins have been jailed for life for plotting to murder a rival and smuggling £30 million worth of cocaine into the UK following one of the largest EncroChat investigations in history. James Harding, 34, and his 'loyal right-hand man' Jayes Kharouti, 39, ran a vast criminal empire which made £5 million in profits from importing drugs over 10 weeks in 2020 alone. They tried to recruit a hitman to put an unnamed rival courier 'permanently out of business', arming him with a gun and ammunition for the 'full M' – a murder, the court was told. At the time, Harding, who claimed to be a high-end watch sales executive, was living in luxury in Dubai, staying in five-star hotels and driving Bugatti and Lamborghini sports cars. The plot was scuppered by Scotland Yard officers who accessed the defendants' discussions on EncroChat and trawled through thousands of messages. They were handed the data after French police smashed the encryption code to the service favoured by the criminal underworld. They were found guilty of conspiracy to murder while Harding was also convicted of conspiring with others to import cocaine, which Kharouti, of Epsom, Surrey, had admitted. On Thursday, Judge Anthony Leonard KC jailed the defendants for life, handing Harding a minimum term of 32 years and Kharouti a minimum term of 26 years. Judge Leonard said: 'It is hard to comprehend that the quantity of cocaine that the EncroChat messages revealed was imported, or was about to be imported, in only a period of approximately two-and-a-half months. Those messages…detail somewhere in the region of 1,000kgs of cocaine being imported and then distributed in smaller quantities throughout the country. 'The street value of that amount of cocaine is in excess of £30 million and the profit on such quantities would have been very substantial. Without the benefit of EncroChat your scale of offending would never have been apparent.' The judge noted messages in which the defendants discussed violence against anyone tempted to speak to the police about their drug business. In one message, Harding said: 'Bro u just have to know where their nan lives. They all love their nans. Then when they act up they know granny gonna get one in the head lol. Keeps them in check.' In turn, Kharouti had threatened to arrange to 'get a prisoner's head bust open' if he talked to the police. Harding had only been out of prison for four years when he opted to 'trade up' from supplying Class B to Class A drugs which reaped greater rewards. Kharouti also had previous convictions for the supply of cocaine and cannabis, the court heard. Their Old Bailey trial was held amid heightened security, with an armed police escort to and from the central London court and prison. Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey, from Scotland Yard, said: 'This sentencing shows the severity of the crimes the duo committed. 'Following one of the largest EncroChat investigations in the Met's history, I am pleased that both criminals are serving the time they deserve.' Three other members of the organised crime group had previously admitted drugs offences. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told the trial the defendants discussed on EncroChat importing a tonne of cocaine over a period of 10 weeks. Harding used the nickname 'thetopsking' while Kharouti went by the handle 'besttops' and 'topsybricks', the prosecution alleged. In EncroChat messages the pair discussed the robbery of a drugs courier and Kharouti reported back on whether six or seven kilograms of cocaine had been delivered to a client the day before. Mr Atkinson said it was Harding who first raised the idea of a 'cryp robbery' – taking drugs from a courier – which became a plan to kill a courier instead. The defendants discussed how and where the murder would take place, with Kharouti offering the potential hitman £100,000, the court was told. Kharouti kept his boss informed about the plan who told him it should involve a 'double tap' shot to the head and chest. Despite a delay over transport for the hitman, the defendants worked on alternative solutions, even arranging the shooting near to the proposed gunman's home. Kharouti increased the offer to £120,000 but an EncroChat user trying to locate an individual for him said the price should be no less than £200,000, the court was told. The alleged hitman was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in the early hours of June 3 2020, which the defendants were unaware of. Harding, who had previous convictions for drugs and false documents, was arrested at Geneva airport in Switzerland on December 27 2021 and extradited from Switzerland. Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK on June 25 last year. Giving evidence, Harding denied using the handle 'the topsking', saying it belonged to an 'intimate' male partner called TK, who he refused to identify. The case formed part of a wider operation targeting criminals who used EncroChat. Previously, Calvin Crump, 29, of Redhill, Surrey, Khuram Ahmed, 38, of Slough, and Peter Thompson, 61 of south-west London, had admitted the cocaine conspiracy charge with Thompson also pleading guilty to possession a pistol. A man alleged to have been the proposed hitman was cleared.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Assets linked to alleged Kinahan associate are proceeds of crime, High Court rules
The High Court has deemed assets belonging to an alleged Kinahan organised crime group associate to be the proceeds of crime. The Criminal Assets Bureau claims Ciaran O'Sullivan (50), who previously resided on Adelaide Road in Glenageary, Co Dublin, is known to multiple law enforcement agencies as a transnational drug trafficker for more than 20 years and has lived a lavish lifestyle despite having no legitimate source of income. The bureau cites Mr O'Sullivan's daughters' attendance at an exclusive Swiss finishing school, Surval Montreux, as an indicator of this lifestyle. On Wednesday, Jim Benson, for the bureau, sought orders related to assets linked to Mr O'Sullivan, which were seized during searches of properties connected to him in June 2020. READ MORE Among the assets seized were devices recovered during searches at his Glenageary address including iPhone 7s, Google Pixel phones and Samsung tablets. It is the bureau's case that Mr O'Sullivan was involved in the supply of EncroChat devices and that these devices were held by Mr O'Sullivan to this end. EncroChat is a now-defunct encrypted messaging service favoured by those involved in organised crime. Other items seized included luxury watches, a Louis Vuitton briefcase, €3,060 in cash and a gold bullion coin. Mr Justice Alexander Owens said he was satisfied these assets were the proceeds of crime, granting the orders sought by the bureau under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996. The judge refused to make an order sought in relation to €16,350 held in a bank account held under Mr O'Sullivan's aunt's name. The court heard evidence that this account was used to pay for Mr O'Sullivan's daughters' Swiss school fees. Mr Justice Owens said the net effect of granting orders sought relating to the bank account would be to take money from the pension of an elderly woman and this would be 'unfair'. In making his orders, Mr Justice Owens noted evidence submitted on Mr O'Sullivan's connections to a Chinese money-laundering gang, who have provided services to the Kinahan organised crime group. In the 2000s, Mr O'Sullivan was targeted and arrested in joint Irish and Dutch police operations focusing on the activities of the Kinahan organised crime group, the bureau allege. Mr O'Sullivan has not lived in Ireland for some time, the court heard. He has no criminal convictions in Ireland, but was convicted of two separate drug-related offences in Spain and the Netherlands.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Botched hitman plot, a ‘gay love triangle' & school bullies… how calamitous drug lords' £100m cocaine empire fell apart
AT the height of their success, drug baron James Harding and his 'loyal right-hand man' Jayes Kharouti ran a vast £100million criminal empire - raking in a staggering £70,000 a DAY. Now, Harding and his cohorts have been jailed for plotting the murder of a gangland rival from his luxury base in Dubai after cops blew open one of the biggest EncroChat investigations in history. 16 Cybercops tracked down drug lord James Harding via his vain selfies Credit: Central News 16 Harding's henchman Jayes Kharouti was jailed after plotting to murder a rival Credit: PA 16 The flashy pair ran their empire from The Nest apartment complex in Al Barari 16 Cops found Harding had hidden cocaine worth millions of pounds Credit: PA When cyber cops snared Harding, 34, who claimed to be a high-end watch sales executive, he was living in luxury at the The Nest apartment complex in Al Barari, Dubai, staying in five-star hotels and driving Bugatti and Lamborghini sports cars. The flashy narco's illicit business empire made a staggering £5million in just ten weeks, but it emerged he was prepared to do anything to keep his strangehold on the cocaine trade. Along with his henchman Kharouti, 39, he hatched an evil plot to murder a rival, going so far as to try to hire a hitman for £100,000. But the pair were scuppered by Scotland Yard detectives who cracked open the EncroChat messaging system - and tracked down the kingpin using vain shirtless selfies he had snapped on the same phone he used to arrange the hit. On the platform favoured by underworld criminals, Harding used the nickname 'thetopsking', while Kharouti went by the handle 'besttops' and 'topsybricks'. The pair, who were jailed at the Old Bailey this week, make an unlikely narco double act - with Harding insisting he was no murderer, but rather a suppressed homosexual involved in a bizarre love triangle, who had been bullied at school over his facial deformities. He denied using the handle 'thetopskiing', claiming instead it was actually used by his secret male lover. Meanwhile, The Sun can reveal Kharouti is an Afghan national who travelled to Britain as an asylum seeker in the Nineties with his mother - and has previously been busted over a nightclub drugs trafficking ring. In 2008 Kharouti, from Wallington in Surrey, was sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty to supplying more than half a kilo of cocaine to nightclubs across London. Using five different aliases, and five different dates of birth, he made £200,000 in just 18 months, with thousands of pounds found stashed inside a milkshake carton at his home. Moment drug-smuggling pals DIVE into water during boat chase as they attempt to flee Border Force with cocaine in hull Cops raided his home and unearthed more than £4,000 in cash – £1,000 stashed in his bedroom and £3,000 tucked a box in a kitchen cupboard. Officers also searched his car and found a staggering 620g of cocaine with a street value estimated at around £34,000. But after being released from jail he formed a murky friendship with Harding, who had been born with hemifacial microsomia, a condition causing the left side of his face to be under-developed. He endured multiple surgeries as a child and teenager to correct a deformed left ear, cheek and jaw. "I was alienated by everyone at school because of it," he confessed at his Old Bailey trial, which ended this week. Jurors heard Harding had feelings for "boys and girls" as a teenager, but "suppressed" his homosexual desires. 16 Harding said he was born with hemifacial microsomia, a condition causing the left side of his face to be under-developed Credit: PA 16 Harding revealed he was attracted to girls and boys and bullied at school Credit: Central News 16 Drug lord Harding raked in £5m in just ten weeks while enjoying a life of luxury in Dubai Credit: Central News 16 Harding sent snaps on EncroChat of himself at the Waldorf Hotel in Ras Al Khaimah Credit: PA As a teenager, Harding, who grew up in Hampshire, began to sell legal highs to make money. He advertised the drugs using online classified adverts. But the scam backfired and in August 2012 he was arrested and charged with drugs offences and possession of false ID documents. In his bombshell Old Bailey this month, Harding returned to his childhood struggles for an extraordinary and elaborate defence. 16 Cops found boastful selfies drugs baron Harding took in his Bugatti Chiron supercar Credit: PA 16 Kharouti could not resist sending selfies using EncroChat leading to his downfall Credit: PA 16 A distinctive tattoo on Kahrouti's right hand confirmed his true identity Credit: PA 16 Harding was arrested at Geneva airport and extradited to the UK for a trial Credit: PA The court had previously heard from cops that Harding used the handle 'thetopskiing' while hatching plans on EncroChat. In a remarkable twist, Harding insisted he did not use the handle - but was sleeping with the man who did. Harding's lawyer Clare Montgomery KC explained: "He (Harding) has for a long time been too ashamed to admit, and has always wanted to keep private, until this case has forced him to reveal his secret life. "That secret is that he had an intense and sexual relationship with 'thetopsking'." Before he was sent to prison the first time, Harding had fathered a child in 2010. His relationship with the little girl's mother broke down while he was in jail - when she apparently told Harding that he was not the child's biological father. But when Harding was released from prison in 2016 his ex-girlfriend contacted him to apologise for the way she had treated him. That secret is that he had an intense and sexual relationship with 'thetopsking' "I'd always felt rejected," he moaned. "And I wanted to know why she would leave me like that. "She explained to me she wouldn't have just left me for anyone. Her daughter's dad had got back into contact with her and wanted to rebuild a relationship with his daughter." Despite this, Harding said he went on to rekindle his relationship with the mother and she and her daughter moved into his home in Alton, Hampshire. But three years later, he claimed his girlfriend and her daughter left the UK and moved to Dubai where the real father, 'thetopskiing' , was living. 16 The pair were smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK Credit: PA 16 Cops confiscated packages of drugs following the investigation Credit: PA Harding later joined them - and recalled how HE fell for the mystery man too. He said he always found 'thetopskiing' or TK, good-looking and charming, but things changed after a boozy night out at the end of 2019. "We went to brunch at a place called Mama Zonia in Dubai, and after that a group of us went back to TK's villa, and after some time people were leaving," he said. "TK and I were drinking, and drinking quite a lot, and we ended up becoming intimate. "I wasn't proud of myself at all. I felt disgusted with myself." Harding claimed he was taken advantage of and used by 'thetopskiing' to book flights and restaurants. 16 Cops found bundles of cash found in the boot of one of their cars Credit: PA 16 Police also seized piles of cash and a counting machine Credit: PA Despite his denials, cops since proved that in fact Harding was 'thetopskiing' following a major cyber investigation. Harding gave away his true identity through a series of boastful selfies which showed his face, distinctive clothing and tattoos. They were able to prove that he and Kharouti had teamed up to import vast quantities of drugs. Their messages from 2020 revealed that "thetopsking" told other users when "lands" of cocaine were going to happen, and provided them with co-ordinates to collect the drugs close to Dover, where they had entered the UK by lorry. As a result Harding was arrested at Geneva Airport in Switzerland in December 2021, and extradited back to the UK. His United Arab Emirates residence permit gave his profession as a sales executive of luxury watches. His second in command Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK last June.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Botched hitman plot, a ‘gay love triangle' & school bullies… how calamitous drug lords' £100m cocaine empire fell apart
AT the height of their success, drug baron James Harding and his 'loyal right-hand man' Jayes Kharouti ran a vast £100million criminal empire - raking in a staggering £70,000 a DAY. Now, 16 Cybercops tracked down drug lord James Harding via his vain selfies Credit: Central News 16 Harding's henchman Jayes Kharouti was jailed after plotting to murder a rival Credit: PA 16 The flashy pair ran their empire from The Nest apartment complex in Al Barari 16 Cops found Harding had hidden cocaine worth millions of pounds Credit: PA When cyber cops snared Harding, 34, who claimed to be a high-end watch sales executive, he was living in luxury at the The Nest apartment complex in Al Barari, Dubai, staying in five-star hotels and driving Bugatti and Lamborghini sports cars. The flashy narco's illicit business empire made a staggering £5million in just ten weeks, but it emerged he was prepared to do anything to keep his strangehold on the cocaine trade. Along with his henchman Kharouti, 39, he hatched an evil plot to murder a rival, going so far as to try to hire a hitman for £100,000. But the pair were scuppered by Scotland Yard detectives who cracked open the EncroChat messaging system - and tracked down the kingpin using vain shirtless selfies he had snapped on the same phone he used to arrange the hit. Read More Features On the platform favoured by underworld criminals, Harding used the nickname 'thetopsking', while Kharouti went by the handle 'besttops' and 'topsybricks'. The pair, who were jailed at the Old Bailey this week, make an unlikely narco double act - with Harding insisting he was no murderer, but rather a suppressed homosexual involved in a bizarre love triangle, who had been bullied at school over his facial deformities. He denied using the handle 'thetopskiing', claiming instead it was actually used by his secret male lover. Meanwhile, The Sun can reveal Kharouti is an Afghan national who travelled to Britain as an asylum seeker in the Nineties with his mother - and has previously been busted over a nightclub drugs trafficking ring. Most read in The Sun In 2008 Kharouti, from Wallington in Surrey, was sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty to supplying more than half a kilo of cocaine to nightclubs across London. Using five different aliases, and five different dates of birth, he made £200,000 in just 18 months, with thousands of pounds found stashed inside a milkshake carton at his home. Moment drug-smuggling pals DIVE into water during boat chase as they attempt to flee Border Force with cocaine in hull Cops raided his home and unearthed more than £4,000 in cash – £1,000 stashed in his bedroom and £3,000 tucked a box in a kitchen cupboard. Officers also searched his car and found a staggering 620g of cocaine with a street value estimated at around £34,000. But after being released from jail he formed a murky friendship with Harding, who had been born with hemifacial microsomia, a condition causing the left side of his face to be under-developed. He endured multiple surgeries as a child and teenager to correct a deformed left ear, cheek and jaw. "I was alienated by everyone at school because of it," he confessed at his Old Bailey trial, which ended this week. Jurors heard Harding had feelings for "boys and girls" as a teenager, but "suppressed" his homosexual desires. 16 Harding said he was born with hemifacial microsomia, a condition causing the left side of his face to be under-developed Credit: PA 16 Harding revealed he was attracted to girls and boys and bullied at school Credit: Central News 16 Drug lord Harding raked in £5m in just ten weeks while enjoying a life of luxury in Dubai Credit: Central News 16 Harding sent snaps on EncroChat of himself at the Waldorf Hotel in Ras Al Khaimah Credit: PA As a teenager, Harding, who grew up in Hampshire, began to sell legal highs to make money. He advertised the drugs using online classified adverts. But the scam backfired and in August 2012 he was arrested and charged with drugs offences and possession of false ID documents. In his bombshell Old Bailey this month, Harding returned to his childhood struggles for an extraordinary and elaborate defence. 16 Cops found boastful selfies drugs baron Harding took in his Bugatti Chiron supercar Credit: PA 16 Kharouti could not resist sending selfies using EncroChat leading to his downfall Credit: PA 16 A distinctive tattoo on Kahrouti's right hand confirmed his true identity Credit: PA 16 Harding was arrested at Geneva airport and extradited to the UK for a trial Credit: PA The court had previously heard from cops that Harding used the handle 'thetopskiing' while hatching plans on EncroChat. In a remarkable twist, Harding insisted he did not use the handle - but was sleeping with the man who did. Harding's lawyer Clare Montgomery KC explained: "He (Harding) has for a long time been too ashamed to admit, and has always wanted to keep private, until this case has forced him to reveal his secret life. "That secret is that he had an intense and sexual relationship with 'thetopsking'." Before he was sent to prison the first time, Harding had fathered a child in 2010. His relationship with the little girl's mother broke down while he was in jail - when she apparently told Harding that he was not the child's biological father. But when Harding was released from prison in 2016 his ex-girlfriend contacted him to apologise for the way she had treated him. That secret is that he had an intense and sexual relationship with 'thetopsking' Clare Montgomery KC "I'd always felt rejected," he moaned. "And I wanted to know why she would leave me like that. "She explained to me she wouldn't have just left me for anyone. Her daughter's dad had got back into contact with her and wanted to rebuild a relationship with his daughter." Despite this, Harding said he went on to rekindle his relationship with the mother and she and her daughter moved into his home in Alton, Hampshire. But three years later, he claimed his girlfriend and her daughter left the UK and moved to Dubai where the real father, 'thetopskiing' , was living. 16 The pair were smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK Credit: PA 16 Cops confiscated packages of drugs following the investigation Credit: PA Harding later joined them - and recalled how HE fell for the mystery man too. He said he always found 'thetopskiing' or TK, good-looking and charming, but things changed after a boozy night out at the end of 2019. "We went to brunch at a place called Mama Zonia in Dubai, and after that a group of us went back to TK's villa, and after some time people were leaving," he said. "TK and I were drinking, and drinking quite a lot, and we ended up becoming intimate. "I wasn't proud of myself at all. I felt disgusted with myself." Harding claimed he was taken advantage of and used by 'thetopskiing' to book flights and restaurants. 16 Cops found bundles of cash found in the boot of one of their cars Credit: PA 16 Police also seized piles of cash and a counting machine Credit: PA Despite his denials, cops since proved that in fact Harding was 'thetopskiing' following a major cyber investigation. Harding gave away his true identity through a series of boastful selfies which showed his face, distinctive clothing and tattoos. They were able to prove that he and Kharouti had teamed up to import vast quantities of drugs. Their messages from 2020 revealed that "thetopsking" told other users when "lands" of cocaine were going to happen, and provided them with co-ordinates to collect the drugs close to Dover, where they had entered the UK by lorry. As a result Harding was arrested at Geneva Airport in Switzerland in December 2021, and extradited back to the UK. His United Arab Emirates residence permit gave his profession as a sales executive of luxury watches. His second in command Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK last June.
