A man who supplied dangerous weapons to the head of a Birmingham-based crime group has been jailed for more than a decade. Rizwan Malik, 43, from Small Heath, provided three Walther Creed 9mm semi-automatic pistols to crime boss Danyal Aziz through an associate, Michael Earp.
Details of the Case
Aziz's gang flooded the West Midlands and other parts of the UK with multi-kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine in 2020. Malik used Encrochat, an encrypted communications network, to receive instructions to deliver the pistols to Sapphire Heights in Hockley, which served as the gang's base, in April 2020. CCTV footage captured Malik arriving in his van and meeting Earp to hand over the firearms.
Aziz was sentenced to 33 years in prison in October 2023 for charges including possessing the three weapons with intent to endanger life. Evidence showed he was willing to use the guns to protect his drug business and intimidate rivals. Two associates, Michael Earp, 35, from Shard End, and Nicole Rhone, 32, from Bordesley Green, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court. Earp received 26 years for drugs and firearms offences, while Rhone was jailed for five years for firearms offences. The gang also possessed other lethal weapons, including a Skorpion submachine gun found under Rhone's bed.
Operation Venetic
The cases arose from Operation Venetic, a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into encrypted EncroChat conversations used by organised crime groups. Giorgina Venturella, Specialist Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Malik put lethal weapons into the hands of an organised criminal, Danyal Aziz, who was fully prepared to use them. This could have had potentially catastrophic consequences for innocent members of the public."
She added: "The 33 years handed down to Aziz in 2023 reflected the severity of his crimes and the corrosive damage that drugs and violence can do in our communities. Malik has now been brought to justice and jailed for 10 years and three months. He played an integral role in the whole enterprise, handing this criminal group the means to threaten and intimidate rivals and customers alike."
Rick Mackenzie, operations manager at the NCA, said: "Rizwan Malik played a vital role in this dangerous gang’s criminal activities and he didn’t hesitate in assisting them in delivering deadly firearms. Malik and his associates thought they were untraceable by using Encrochat to discuss and organise their crimes. They were wrong. The NCA will continue to protect the public from serious and organised crime."
