A Deptford man has been charged with a number of serious offences as part of the police's ongoing Operation Venetic campaign against organized crime.
Alsi Vata from Deptford was arrested on Thursday (July 2) as part of the National Crime Agency (NCA)'s massive operation against organized crime in the UK.
Police said that the 24-year-old had since been charged with "conspiring to supply firearms and ammunition, as well as class A and B drugs," after his arrest.
A spokesperson for the NCA added further details of how the Deptford man had been caught:
"Vata was detained by NCA officers, supported by the Metropolitan Police Service, as he left an apartment in Soho on Thursday morning.
"He is due to appear at Leeds Crown Court on 17th July 2020," they said.
As News Shopper previously reported, Operation Venetic is part of an international policing operation designed to clamp down on organized crime.
It was made possible after European police in France and the Netherlands successfully infiltrated the EncroChat network that provided a platform for encrypted communication highly popular with criminal gangs.
Peter Stevens, branch commander at the NCA, shared his thoughts after Vata's arrest in Soho:
"It’s undeniable the levels of violence and exploitation that are linked to illegal drugs and firearms in the UK," he said.
"Tackling the networks behind this type of criminality is a priority for the NCA and Operation Venetic is our most significant breakthrough in the fight against serious and organised crime.
"Not only are we arresting the criminal kingpins, we’re disrupting those middle-tier criminals before they can make their way up the chain and cause even greater harm," Stevens added.
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