Men jailed for 32 years after guns, ammunition and silencer seized

Since the infiltration of Encrochat – the encrypted communications platform used by many in the criminal underworld, several of those arrested and charged have been challenging the admissibility of the evidence which has resulted in delays in criminal proceedings.

Jonathan Cassidy and Nasar Ahmed, two prolific drug importers and money launderers we jailed earlier this year, were one of the lead cases against this. For years, along with several other high profile criminals, they challenged the evidence secured from the nationwide NCA led Operation Venetic, alleging the evidence was inadmissible. In February this year (2024) the Judge presiding over this case decided the Encrochat material could be admitted in evidence in Cassidy and Ahmed’s criminal proceedings. With insurmountable incriminating evidence, they had little choice but to plead guilty. They were jailed for almost 44 years.

As a result, we anticipated several guilty pleas to follow, and today (Thursday 9 May) our latest defendants Saleem and Monaf appeared at Manchester Crown Square Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

Najeef Saleem (12/11/1978) of Smallbrook Lane, Leigh, was jailed for 22 years. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to supply cocaine, and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Nahidul Monaf (25/02/1988) of Rita Ave, Moss Side, was jailed for ten years. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life and production of cannabis.

A proactive operation into these two men was launched in 2019. Our case was further strengthened in 2020 when we received a referral from the NCA of thousands of Encrochat messages. We attributed these to Saleem, who was using the handle ‘Rafealcaroquintero’ – after the Mexican drug lord, which provided further evidence of his criminality.

On the evening of Thursday 3 October 2019, we executed a warrant at an address on Kingsway, Cheadle. Following an extensive search, we located two self-loading pistols and ammunition hidden in a shed in the garden.

It soon became clear that the occupants of the address were not involved in the conspiracy, rather the gun belonged to a man who was doing building work on their property; Nahidul Monaf also known as Bobby, and his associate Najeef Saleem.

CCTV was recovered from the address which showed the pair accessing the shed on several occasions prior to the warrant, and a forensic examination of the guns was conducted, giving detectives crucial evidence linking Monaf and Saleem to the weapons.

Police returned to the Kingsway address on Monday 13 January to conduct further searches, in particular, the roof space which was accessible via a hatch. Inside, we recovered another gun, further ammunition, and a silencer.

Whilst this investigation developed, we had a simultaneous operation ongoing into Monaf and Saleem in relation to drugs. Following a period of surveillance, we had enough evidence to execute warrants at several properties linked to them.

On 8 July 2020, Saleem was arrested at an address on Smallbrook Lane in Leigh. We recovered around £30,000 cash, several mobile phones, paperwork, and a set of keys linked to a unit in Cheetham Hill. A radio frequency detector was also seized, which is a device often used by organised crime groups to establish if law enforcement is tracking their vehicles or mobile devices.

Monaf was arrested at an address on Rita Ave in Moss Side, where police found further cannabis plants.

Warrants were also executed at units in Cheetham Hill where two large cannabis farms were discovered. It was a sophisticated set up with high tech, expensive equipment used to control their product, including dehumidifiers, a ducting system, filters, and a hose system which will have undoubtedly been a huge cost to them.

Messages between April and June 2020 showed Saleem was regularly purchasing and suppling large quantities of class A and B drugs and was involved in the supplying and handling of firearms and ammunition through an established criminal network of contacts spanning the UK and abroad.

Texts saw Saleem trying to buy ammunition in bulk saying ‘250, 300, 500, as many as you can get’, and ‘please I need bad.’ Discussing the ‘sick sprayer’ he had just bought; conversations detailed how two bullets would do the job as long as they didn’t miss. Copious messages sharing images of drugs, cash and firearms were exchanged, and deals were made. Saleem bragged about obtaining further powerful firearms and hand grenades. He was clearly a trusted member of the organised crime group, and he was seen organising the collection of drugs and cash daily.

They are now behind bars for a long time thanks to a meticulous investigation by specialist detectives in our Serious Organised Crime Group.

Detective Sergeant Colin Shackleton from our Serious Organised Crime Group said: “This was clearly a sophisticated operation. Saleem and Monaf had invested hundreds of thousands of pounds into their illicit enterprise through high quality technology and tracking devices, and the use of encrypted phones, all of which furthered their criminal business and concealed it from police.

“The extent of their criminality should not be underestimated. They were making vast profits from trading the deadliest commodities to anyone who would pay the price. Removing them from our streets will certainly have a detrimental effect on the supply chain, and every weapon we recover, and every criminal we arrest is another potentially fatal incident stopped.

“We’ve been working relentlessly to tackle firearms enabled criminality, and in the last year, we’ve seen dozens of high-risk offenders from the upper echelons of organised crime jailed for almost 300 years, with firearms recoveries and seizures increasing thanks to proactive operations like this.

“In this case and in so many others, information from communities is crucial, so if you know where dangerous weapons are being stored, carried or used, let us know and we will take positive action.”