An associate of an organised crime gang (OCG) in Wales recently assisted in laundering thousands of pounds earned through dealing cocaine by converting it into cryptocurrency. The gang, responsible for trading more than £4.6m worth of cocaine, believed they could make their funds “untouchable”. Ranj Hassan, 35, from Cardiff, played a role in helping the gang launder the proceeds of trading 40kg of cocaine. They used EncroChat, mistakenly thinking their activities wouldn’t attract authorities’ attention.
Police launched an investigation named Operation Solano into the OCG, with Joshua Billingham, 27, from Caerphilly, and Amir Khan, 31, from Cardiff, being key figures in the drug operation. The duo recruited partners, friends, and family members to assist in laundering profits while they were serving prison sentences for other offences. During the conspiracy, around US$2.85m in cryptocurrency transactions were carried out, with withdrawals totaling $2.38m.
In 2020, Gwent Police discovered two hydraulic presses used for packaging cocaine in a flat in Caerphilly. Evidence found at the flat indicated extensive use for cutting and packaging cocaine, including a sample of half a kilo of cocaine, six kilos of cutting agent, and related paraphernalia. To conceal the money’s origins, Billingham and Khan utilised Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to move funds between various wallets, making the money harder to trace.
Hassan, based in Butetown, Cardiff, regularly received money that he converted into cryptocurrency before transferring it to others. He assisted in converting around $114,167 (approximately £86,000) into cryptocurrency and transferred an additional £5,000 to a different bank account. Following his arrest at his car wash business in City Road in February 2023, Hassan claimed the financial transactions were related to car purchases. He later admitted to concealing, converting, and disguising criminal proceeds.
Hassan, a father of two and the main provider for his family, was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to undertake 120 hours of unpaid work, a 12-day rehabilitation activity, and made subject to Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings. The court emphasised that Hassan’s actions had contributed to making the illegal profits from drug dealing more challenging to trace, thereby facilitating criminal activities.