Lengthy Jail Term for Southall Coke and Gun Dealer

Samuel Black snared after encrypted message system was hacked

Samuel Black made the mistake of posting a picture of himself on the Enchrochat system. Picture: Met Police

October 16, 2023

A man from Southall has received a lengthy jail sentence after being convicted of dealing in both drugs and guns.

28-year-old Samuel Black of Dormers Rise in Southall was given a 21-year prison sentence at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, 9 October.

He is one of a growing number of people convicted following the cracking by police in Europe in 2020 of an encrypted communications network called Encrochat which was widely used by criminal gangs.

Intelligence gathered by this method was passed on to the National Crime Agency in the UK and then the Met.

The investigation into Black was prioritised when evidence arose that, as well as dealing in a large quantity of drugs, he was also trading in firearms.

Between April and June 2020, Black was involved in the supply of at least two guns, a .38 Revolver and a semi-automatic Walther PPK, and had access to other firearms (9mm Glocks) and ammunition.

He had also conspired with others to supply more than 14.75 kilograms of cocaine, 60 kilograms of ‘skunk’ cannabis and handled around £2 million in cash.

Specialist Crime officers and staff from Met Intelligence were able to review data and attributed the owner of the ‘SAVAGETOPS’ & ‘EUROSANDPOUNDS’ handles as Samuel Black from February 2022.

A quarter of a kilo of cocaine and a gun found at Black's address. Picture: Met Police

Officers were able link these accounts to Black by thorough careful analysis of images of a living room and bedroom which were sent on the Encrochat. In these images Black was counting large sums of money. Black was known to have stayed in the property in 2020 and when they compared the decoration and the layout of the rooms in 2022, they were identical.

Black’s nickname was ‘crack’ and that is what others called him and how he referred to himself to on the Encrochat network.  He regularly talked about playing his PlayStation 4 and his account username was ‘Crack_west6’. He even shared an image of his TV showing this username.  Black also made the mistake of uploading an image of himself on his Encrochat device.

A quarter of a million pounds in cash found in Black's possession. Picture: Met Police

Due to the overwhelming evidence against him he had previously pleaded guilty at the end of last year to six offences relating to dealing in drugs and guns.

Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane, from Operation Eternal in the Met’s Specialist Crime team, said, “Black arranged large-scale drug and gun deals to make as much money as possible, with no thought of the misery and devastation he would cause in communities because of the violence it inevitably leads to.

“Black traded and bought firearms to protect his organised crime network. This investigation has undoubtedly prevented deadly violence that would have seriously impacted communities.

“He believed using encrypted devices rendered him untouchable, and sought to facilitate the most violent of crimes. However, the Met is unceasing in our efforts to target and dismantle the organised criminal networks which seek to blight our streets. Ironically, the steps taken by Black to conceal his operation sealed his fate, presenting us with the very evidence used to convict him."