St Albans Crown Court Sentencing Results

On 29 October 2025, Daniel Pickavance, 27, of Watford, was stopped by National Crime Agency officers while driving a VW Golf along Watford Road, Radlett, in Watford. He confessed to having £30,000 cash and a handgun, directing officers to the loaded Top-Venting Blank-Firing pistol (TVBF) with five 8mm bullets and the cash in the driver's side back seat. Searches of associated properties revealed 3.3 kilos of cannabis, over £5,900 cash, and a cash counting machine. The TVBF pistol is illegal under the Firearms Act.

Solomon Tweneboah, 47, from London, was arrested at the Driving Theory Test Centre in Stag House, Hertford, on 19 January after staff noticed the photo on his driving licence did not match his appearance. An investigation by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uncovered further incidents of fraud by false representation across London, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Northamptonshire and Suffolk.

Mitchell Bates, 30, from Hatfield, was caught in November after police raided his home and found Class A drugs and phones used for dealing. After a search the previous September, officers arrested him again with more Class A drugs. He pleaded guilty at St Albans Crown Court to supplying crack cocaine, dealing heroin, and possession of £1,087 in criminal cash.

Arthur Draper, 41, of no fixed address, targeted elderly and vulnerable homeowners in Hertfordshire (including areas such as Rickmansworth) and Nottinghamshire between November 2022 and January 2023, using cold-calling and high-pressure tactics to obtain payments for unnecessary, incomplete or substandard roof repairs, attempting to defraud a total of £141,900 and obtaining £90,200 via cheques and bank transfers.

David Vincent, as the sole director of Admiral Roofing and Building Contractors Ltd, cold-called a recently widowed 80-year-old man in Stevenage in early 2024. He and another man falsely identified roof issues, displaced tiles to exaggerate the problem, and pressured the victim into agreeing to a £30,000 roof replacement quote, which was grossly overcharged. They began work to a poor standard, took £5,000 payment, and failed to provide information on the victim's right to cancel, leading to an investigation by Hertfordshire County Council's Trading Standards service.

Claudiu Marcu, 51, from London, conducted a string of distraction thefts in supermarkets across Surrey and other areas between November 2024 and February 2025. He targeted elderly people, stealing wallets, purses, and bags while distracting them, and used the stolen bank cards to withdraw thousands of pounds, totaling over £40,000.

Ded Makaj, 34, from north London, was one of two men arrested after police discovered a cannabis factory estimated to be worth more than £500,000 at a house in Hertford, on Wednesday April 9, 2025. The building had been converted into a cannabis factory with dangerously tampered power supply. The men tried to escape through the roof but were arrested shortly after.

Bylbyl Nezaj, 36, of Thorley Park, Bishop’s Stortford, was one of two men arrested after police discovered a cannabis factory estimated to be worth more than £500,000 at a house in Hertford, on Wednesday April 9, 2025. The building had been converted into a cannabis factory with dangerously tampered power supply. The men tried to escape through the roof but were arrested shortly after.

Ricky Harrison obtained four Bounce Back Loans worth £50,000 each by inflating company turnover figures, claiming a total of £200,000 during the pandemic. He used fake businesses that were not trading, spent £85,000 on a car in June 2020, and made only one loan repayment of £833 before attempting to close his companies.

Kamarley Jones-Ebanks, 23, ran a ruthless county lines crack cocaine ring in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The operation involved supplying crack cocaine and posed a serious threat to communities. In July 2025, Hertfordshire police’s County Lines Investigation Unit raided a drug hub in Hitchin linked to Jones-Ebanks and his crew, arresting him on the spot and halting his violent drug empire.

Irakli Rustemi, 33, an Albanian national from Hertfordshire, was stopped by armed Cambridgeshire Police officers in a white Citroen DS3 on the A10 at Buntingford. Intelligence indicated access to a firearm. A key seized from the vehicle led to a search of a chalet-style apartment in Penton Drive, Cheshunt in October 2023, where a 9mm Makarov self-loading pistol with six rounds of ammunition and 13 kilos of cocaine (street value £700,000) were found hidden in a wardrobe, wrapped in a towel.

Dominic D'Sa participated in a fraudulent wine investment scheme run by Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchant Ltd, convincing 41 victims across the UK to invest £6m in worthless wine. The operation involved persistent cold calls to elderly and vulnerable people, misrepresentations about profits, and high mark-ups. Investors lost pensions, homes, and in one case, a marriage. The scheme operated from 2008 to 2018, with a raid revealing deceptive practices. D'Sa was convicted of fraudulent trading after a jury trial in August.

Gregory Assemakis was involved in the fraudulent trading activities of Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchant Ltd, a scheme that defrauded 41 UK victims of £6m through fake wine investments. The company, founded in 2008, used call centre tactics to target pensioners, employing lies, repeated calls, and false reassurances. Wine was sold at unreasonable mark-ups, often worthless on the secondary market. A November 2018 raid exposed the operation's mantra 'no means yes'. Assemakis was found guilty by jury in August after trial.

Benjamin Cazaly founded Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchant Ltd in 2008, operating a fraudulent wine investment scheme from a call centre in Groveland Court, London. The company targeted vulnerable pensioners with cold calls, using scripts, fake names, and glossy brochures with unauthorized logos. Victims were misled about wine values with mark-ups up to 400%, losing at least £6m from 41 investors. A raid in November 2018 uncovered the mantra 'no means yes' on the wall. Over £37m passed through accounts in 10 years. Cazaly was convicted of fraudulent trading after a trial in August.

Ahsan Naseer, along with accomplices, orchestrated a cold calling campaign pretending to be detectives investigating fraudulent bank activity. Between April and July, they targeted elderly and vulnerable victims in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Kent, coercing them into withdrawing cash, purchasing foreign currency or high-value jewellery, and handing it over as part of a fake undercover operation. This resulted in around £51,000 taken from seven victims, with attempts for a further £30,000.

Ismail Sarwar, along with accomplices, orchestrated a cold calling campaign pretending to be detectives investigating fraudulent bank activity. Between April and July, they targeted elderly and vulnerable victims in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Kent, coercing them into withdrawing cash, purchasing foreign currency or high-value jewellery, and handing it over as part of a fake undercover operation. This resulted in around £51,000 taken from seven victims, with attempts for a further £30,000.

Hamza Ali, along with accomplices, orchestrated a cold calling campaign pretending to be detectives investigating fraudulent bank activity. Between April and July, they targeted elderly and vulnerable victims in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Kent, coercing them into withdrawing cash, purchasing foreign currency or high-value jewellery, and handing it over as part of a fake undercover operation. This resulted in around £51,000 taken from seven victims, with attempts for a further £30,000.

Hamza Aftab, 25, of Luton, was part of a gang supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Luton into the Welwyn Hatfield area. He took control of a drug line following the jailing of other members, using a dedicated phone to receive orders and direct associates to exchange drugs for cash. During an operation in 2022, mobile handsets, bladed weapons, class A drugs, and £7,700 in cash were seized.

Muhammed Tawhid, 22, of Luton, was part of a gang supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Luton into the Welwyn Hatfield area. He was involved in drug deliveries as directed by a gang leader, with the operation leading to the seizure of mobile handsets, bladed weapons, class A drugs, and £7,700 in cash during arrests in 2022.

Mohammed Sohail Khan, 22, of Luton, was part of a gang supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Luton into the Welwyn Hatfield area. He stored drugs, cash, and weapons on behalf of the group and was involved in drug exchanges. During an operation in 2022, mobile handsets, bladed weapons, class A drugs, and £7,700 in cash were seized from his address.

Adeeb Mohammed, 34, of St Winifred’s Avenue, Luton, was involved in a gang supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Luton into the Welwyn Hatfield area. The gang's activities included storing and distributing drugs, with arrests in 2022 leading to the seizure of mobile handsets, bladed weapons, class A drugs, and £7,700 in cash.

Casey Porter, a 25-year-old care worker from Barleycroft, Stevenage, exploited his position while working for a care agency to scam a vulnerable victim with learning difficulties. He withdrew cash from ATMs in Baldock without the victim's consent on 40 separate occasions between April and September 2024, stealing more than £10,000 for his own gain.

Neelen Balarajah, 34, was part of a London organised crime group that laundered millions in drugs cash using scrap metal dealers. In January 2022, he was caught by National Crime Agency surveillance taking possession of a Gucci embossed box containing over £20,000 from associate Hitesh Vadolia. He also distributed cannabis and attempted to fraudulently acquire £1.5 million in government grants. During arrest, he tried to escape by driving at officers. A search of his home in Pinner, Middlesex, revealed substantial cash, herbal cannabis, cocaine, and empty wrappings testing positive for cocaine traces, with phone images showing they had contained kilo blocks of cocaine. The group also used cash to pay for stolen metal and sought grants to divert funds to criminal ventures.