Sajid Ali Denies Role in Large-Scale Drug Smuggling Attempt
Sajid Ali, the leader of a drug trafficking operation, has been convicted for his involvement in an attempt to smuggle £11 million worth of cocaine into the UK concealed in a shipment of bananas.
Ali, 56, from Birmingham, was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) at Heathrow Airport in January, just moments before he could board a flight to Istanbul. Despite being arrested, Ali denied his involvement in the smuggling operation, where nearly 140 kilograms (300 pounds) of cocaine was found hidden in a shipping container in April 2022.
Following a three-week trial, Ali was found guilty at Coventry Crown Court and is set to be sentenced on October 16. His arrest came after several other members of the gang were caught while unloading the container at a storage facility in Coventry. Unbeknownst to them, Border Force officers had already intercepted the shipment, removed the cocaine, and resealed the container.
The other gang members, who were convicted and sentenced for their roles in the cocaine smuggling operation at Warwick Crown Court last year, include:
Mirgent Shahu (33) from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
Robert Ball (60) from Hale Barns, Cheshire
Florjan Ibra (31) from Barking, London
Arman Kaviani (38) from Golders Green, London
The cocaine was initially discovered in the shipping container upon its arrival at London Gateway port. Acting on intelligence, the NCA removed the drugs and resealed the container, placing it under surveillance to identify those attempting to claim it.
A few days later, Ball, working for Albanian drug dealers, requested that the container be released and moved to a storage facility in Herald Way, Coventry. It was here that Ali, who had distanced himself from the operation, coordinated the group’s actions via WhatsApp messages.
Ball and Shahu directed Ibra and Kaviani to unload the container using a forklift, at which point they used a crowbar to tear open the roof and start unloading packages they believed to be cocaine. However, as they proceeded, NCA and police officers swooped in to arrest them.
NCA Operations Manager, Paul Orchard, commented, “There is no doubt that Sajid Ali was the mastermind behind this operation, employing others to carry out the dirty work of extracting cocaine from the container. Had the shipment not been intercepted, it would have been worth millions of pounds on UK streets. Ali’s involvement is not just about profit—this kind of criminality leads to violence and exploitation, including gang culture and violent crime in the UK and globally.”
Caroline Hughes, Specialist Prosecutor with the CPS, added, “Despite his attempts to distance himself from the operation, the evidence gathered by the NCA and CPS clearly showed that Sajid Ali was the driving force behind this drug importation.”
Ali’s conviction highlights the extensive work done by the NCA and its partners in tackling drug-related crime and protecting communities from the harm caused by illegal narcotics.
