Taxi driver jailed for role in Northern drug and gun syndicate
A Bradford taxi driver who moonlighted as a courier for a major organised crime group has been sentenced to 11 years in prison following an extensive National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.
Fifty-seven-year-old Safdar Pervez used his taxi as a cover to transport large quantities of drugs and cash across northern England. Operating under the alias ‘Satanicgate’ on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat, Pervez was a trusted member of a gang that trafficked cocaine and produced amphetamine on an industrial scale.
The criminal enterprise, led by 39-year-old Carl O’Flaherty, was dismantled as part of Operation Venetic, the UK’s response to the infiltration of EncroChat. O’Flaherty was sentenced to over 17 years in 2023, but Pervez’s pivotal role in the network continued to emerge during a three-week trial at Leeds Crown Court in late 2024.
As a courier, Pervez made routine trips to deliver drugs to clients, including regular runs to County Durham, where he supplied diluted cocaine to one of the group’s top customers, 39-year-old Daryll Hall. The cocaine, diluted to maximise profits, was sold for significant sums as part of the gang’s lucrative operation.
EncroChat data revealed Pervez’s trusted status within the network, where he worked in the shadows to move both drugs and tens of thousands of pounds in cash without drawing attention. His role was vital in sustaining the gang’s operations over several years.
The investigation into the syndicate began in 2020 when ex-footballer Paul Shepherd was stopped with cocaine and an EncroChat device in his car. A search of Shepherd’s home uncovered firearms and ammunition, leading investigators to unravel the wider conspiracy. Pervez’s movements, uncovered through encrypted messages, placed him firmly at the heart of the logistics that kept the network running.
Sentenced alongside three other members of the group on 7 January, Pervez now faces a lengthy prison term. His fellow defendants included two drug “chefs” who produced amphetamine and processed cocaine for distribution, as well as Hall, who was sentenced in his absence after absconding before the trial. Efforts to locate Hall are ongoing.
Nigel Coles, NCA Operations Manager, said: "Our complex and extensive investigation has brought down every member of this dangerous criminal network, from the mastermind behind the conspiracy to couriers transporting both firearms and drugs across the north of England.
"Lengthy custodial sentences have been given to all the ten members of this organised crime group and the investigation has stopped significant quantities of harmful drugs reaching our communities, together with the seizure of deadly firearms.
"At the NCA we are committed to our mission of protecting the public from serious and organised crime, and in dismantling this network we have made our communities a safer place to live."
