The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that it has launched, alongside seven UK banks, a public private partnership to identify and take action against organised crime using banking data. The seven banks will aim to provide the NCA with account data suspected of criminality where subject matter experts and investigators from the NCA will then analyse the data alongside its own to identify risks. 90 intelligence packages have been delivered since the project went operationally live in May 2024.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed their involvement an investigation after almost 20kg heroin was found in a hidden storage compartment in the back of a camper van at Dover Eastern Docks. According to the NCA, Michael Sloan was travelling with his partner and children when he was stopped and questioned by Border Force Officers. The drugs were analysed by NCA forensic experts who found the heroin was between 44 - 59% pure. The NCA estimated that once the drugs were unadultered, they would have a street value of almost £2m. Upon further inspection of the van, investigators were able to identify that the concealment storage compartment in the van was installed after Sloan had purchased the van. Sloan was sentenced to six years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to the offence of smuggling class A drugs.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that operation Atlantic froze more than USD 12 million in suspected criminal proceeds from fraud and identified more than USD 45 million stolen through cryptocurrency scams. It also identified more than 20,000 victims across the UK, US and Canada. The operation focused on approval phishing, a scam in which individuals are deceived into granting criminals access to their cryptocurrency wallets, often through fake investment schemes. The NCA partnered with international law enforcement agencies and private sector organisations, enabling officers to trace illicit transactions, identify victims and secure funds before they could be moved. Analysis of evidence gathered during the operation will continue to support victims and investigate potential criminal activity.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that the former chief of staff to the President of Madagascar, Romy Andrianarisoa, has been sentenced, alongside her associate Philippe Tabuteau, to a combined sentence of 5 years and 9 months in prison. This follows the pair’s attempt to solicit a bribe from Gemfields, a UK-based responsible mining company. The NCA has releases six audio clips captured during its investigation, of meetings led by Andrianarisoa and Tabuteau, attempting to solicit bribes. Andrianarisoa was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months, and Tabuteau was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that three individuals have been sentenced following its investigation into fraud involving contracts to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The investigation found that funds received under contracts to supply nitrile gloves were diverted to luxury purchases, debt repayments and home improvements rather than used for their intended purpose. Money was also moved out of an escrow account before the supply agreement was completed, and gloves intended for US hospitals were not delivered. The defendants were convicted at Leicester Crown Court following a five-week trial in July 2026. Jogesh Bhandari was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, while Craig Morris received three years and nine months’ imprisonment. Meenakshi Bhandari received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must complete 250 hours of unpaid work.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that a 29 year-old man has been sentenced to ten years in jail after a stash of cocaine valued at £1.1m was found in his home, along with an illegal firearm. Muhamet Qosja was arrested in October 2020 when a search of his car resulted in £23,000 in cash being found hidden behind the dashboard. A total of 11 kilograms of cocaine were found at his house. Qosja had admitted that he had been living in the UK illegally since 2014 and had actively sought out work as a drug dealer. He pleaded guilty to firearms, drugs and money laundering charges at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 10 June 2021.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has, for the first time, secured the forfeiture of sanctioned funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The money, which the NCA argues was held for the benefit of Petr Aven despite not being in his name, had been frozen since 2022, when he was sanctioned by the UK for supporting the government of Russia. Aven is the former head of Russia's largest commercial bank. Transactions made after March 15 2022 by Aven's estate manager and attempts to relocate the funds, are believed by the NCA to have been in breach of those sanctions. The agreement for the forfeiture of £783,827.34 was ratified at Westminster Magistrates Court on 29 July 2024.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has infiltrated significant DDoS-for-hire service ‘digitalstress.su’ which has been responsible for tens of thousands of attacks every week across the globe. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks overwhelm websites, forcing them offline. They are illegal in the UK under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. The NCA also covertly and overtly accessed communication platforms being used to discuss launching DDoS attacks.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that ENEX Premium Trading Limited has agreed to forfeit more than £3.84 million following a civil recovery investigation into suspected money laundering and sanctions evasion. The NCA obtained an Account Freezing Order in November 2024 after the company transferred significant funds into recently opened UK accounts. Its investigation traced the funds to ENEX accounts in China that had received payments from suspected front companies, some of which were later designated under US sanctions for facilitating illicit Iranian oil sales and transferring funds to the Iranian Quds Force. The NCA also identified a network of suspected front companies and bank accounts allegedly used to route funds through UK electronic money institutions for conversion into cryptocurrency. The NCA suspects that the forfeited funds represent the proceeds of money laundering. ENEX’s owner, Nadir Valiyev, has denied engaging in criminal activity and the settlement does not constitute an admission of unlawful conduct by ENEX or Valiyev or evidence of criminal conduct.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has published its annual plan for 2024-2025, outlining a total budget of £869.64m a £0.18m increase from the previous year. The plan details three organisational priorities: relocating headquarters to Stratford, reforming officer pay structures and continuing digital transformation. The NCA reports achieving 377 high-impact criminal disruptions in 2023-2024, exceeding its target of 364. The agency will focus on tackling organised immigration crime, online fraud and drug trafficking while maintaining its workforce of 5,789 full-time equivalent officers, with a cap of 5,890 for 2024-2025.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has published its annual plan for 2025–26, outlining a total budget of £1,012m. The plan details four organisational priorities: (1) increasing disruption of organised immigration crime; (2) strengthening collaboration with the Crown Prosecution Service to improve judicial outcomes; (3) delivering high-impact operations against serious and organised crime (SOC) threats and (4) advancing capabilities to address technology-enabled crime. The NCA reports achieving 450 high-impact disruptions in 2024–25, exceeding its target of a 50% increase. The Home Secretary has also set key strategic priorities for 2025-26, directing NCA to: (1) strengthen and protect the UK border; (2) reduce fraud and combat corrupt elites, cyber and economic crime and (3) strengthen bilateral and multilateral international partnerships, including through Europol and INTERPOL.

The National Crime Agency (NCA), in collaboration with NHS England, has charged two men as part of an investigation into the creation and online sale of fraudulent coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination records. 26-year-old Waqas Hanif and 29-year-old Touqir Nasir, both from Luton, face charges under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and Fraud Act 2006. The investigation centres on the alleged creation of nearly 2,000 fraudulent records at a Luton health centre between June and October 2021. Authorities suspect organised criminals recruited healthcare professionals to produce these records, enabling unvaccinated individuals to circumvent travel restrictions. The NCA also seized £145,000 from a safety deposit box in connection with the case. The charges underscore efforts to maintain the integrity of the UK's pandemic response and healthcare system.