Brentford Drug Kingpin Receives Lengthy Jail Sentence |
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Redon Bushi headed up huge cocaine supply operation
July 11, 2025 A 32-year-old man from Brentford has been identified as playing the leading role in an organised gang of drug dealers over several years. Redon Bushi of Cherry Crescent was convicted of heading up an operation that conspired to supply over 832 kilos of cocaine which would have had a street value of £81,640,000. He admitted charges relating to drug dealing and the transfer and possession of criminal property following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police and the National Crime Agency. Bushi had served as the director of a number of companies including a hand car wash, a bubble tea café and a beauty clinic which it is believed may have been used to launder the proceeds of the drug operation. He was sentenced to 24 years’ and 10 months imprisonment on Wednesday, 9 July at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court. Bushi’s operation worked with multiple importers of cocaine and couriers to supply London and the rest of the UK. It was broken up after the authorities managed to access messages sent by the gang through the Encrochat and Signal systems. A targeted operation followed and Met detectives started work to dismantle the illegal drug-dealing operation. Bushi was using Encrochat under the username of ‘Sealvermouth’ but, even when he thought his messages were secure, he remained cautious providing couriers with just post codes, times, and a loose description of the individual they to whom they would be delivering. However, Met officers were able to uncover the group’s lines of communication by thoroughly reviewing every device and chat pertaining to the group. They also trawled through hours’ worth of CCTV and were able to piece together the inner mechanics of the criminal operation. Using this material, officers stopped one of the vehicles belonging to Bushi’s couriers, 32-year-old Ahmad Jabarkhill from Hounslow in June 2020 and found nearly £700,000 on him. The Met and NCA officers also used covert tactics and intelligence to identify three more of Bushi’s couriers, 23-year-old Arline Sida from Amersham, 32-year-old Luke Ferguson from Shepherd’s Bush and 23-year-old Kelvin Hoxha of Field Lane, Brentford, gathering evidence to show the scale of the enterprise.
In addition to the chats between the group, fake identity cards were also found, as well as a van with a sophisticated compartment for concealment. There was also a camera set up at the location where drugs were being stored so it could be remotely monitored. Acting on this information, Sida and Hoxha were both arrested at an address Brentford in August 2023 where six kilos of cocaine were found.. Luke Ferguson, another member of the criminal enterprise, was then arrested at a ‘safe house’ also in Brentford and was found in possession of 72kg of cocaine, with a street value estimated at £6.24 million. The blocks of cocaine were branded with the word 'Rolex'. Bushi tried to flee justice after his associates were arrested, staying in a series of hotels, buying a new phone and carrying £3,000. Even when he was on the run, he continued to be in contact with gang members directing them to check cameras at various addresses to identify any police attendance or surveillance. A few days later he was tracked down in Reading and arrested. Jabarkhill pleaded guilty to the possession of criminal property at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday, 22 July 2020 and was sentenced on the same date to two years and three months’ imprisonment. Three other members of the gang received their sentences on Wednesday, 9 July at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court having earlier entered guilty pleas at the same court. Sida admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on Wednesday, 17 January 2024 and was sentenced to 12 years’ 9 months imprisonment. Hoxha pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and driving while disqualified on Saturday, 26 October 2024 and was sentenced to 11 years’ 8 Months imprisonment. Luke Ferguson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on Thursday, 21 November 2024 at and was sentenced to 14 years’ 5 months imprisonment. Detective Constable David Leitner, who led the investigation on behalf of the Met, said, “This case demonstrates our relentlessness in pursuing organised crime, while utilising the unprecedented opportunity that Encrochat represent to its fullest effect. “Bushi clearly believed that these messaging platforms protected him from law enforcement, but they only served to provide us the very evidence to convict him and his associates. “This shows the Met’s commitment to tackling offenders who are instrumental in supplying drugs to the streets of London.”
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