Serving London Magistrate Jailed Seven Years for Running Heroin and Crack Cocaine Network

A judge who was also a dealer

A serving London magistrate was jailed for seven years on Thursday after a Metropolitan Police investigation revealed he was a key member of a west London organised crime network supplying heroin and crack cocaine.police Purshotam Dhillon, 59, of Lampton Avenue, Hounslow, sat on the bench at courts in Ealing, Feltham and Uxbridge while simultaneously storing drugs, cash and equipment for the gang at his home.standard +1 Four members of the network received a combined 25 years at Croydon Crown Court, with the ringleader sentenced to more than 12 years.police

The network and its ringleader

The investigation began in January 2024 when Met detectives focused on a highly active drug line known as "Hadi", responsible for distributing heroin and crack cocaine across west London.police Phone data analysis pointed to Hardeep Thind, 48, also known as Harry Singh, as the central figure — a man already serving a 17-year sentence for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, plus possession of a Skorpion submachine gun.police +1 Operating from an open prison with access to a mobile phone, Thind ran the network using a burner device, and after his release in October 2024 expanded it by recruiting dealers in the Hayes and Southall area.police Voice notes on downloaded phones captured Thind discussing control of drug lines and being referred to as "the plug" — slang for a high-level supplier.police He was sentenced to 12 years and six months; his term included a dangerous driving charge.police

Dhillon's role and the cost of respectability

Prosecutors argued Dhillon's judicial status gave the criminal enterprise an air of respectability.thetimes +1 Officers found that a van linked to Thind, which contained substantial quantities of heroin, had been parked outside Dhillon's home and that drugs were weighed out and packaged inside.police +1 A self-confessed addict, Dhillon told police he was dependent on crack cocaine and heroin but claimed it did not affect his magistrate duties.hindustantimes He was convicted by a unanimous jury verdict on 8 May following a trial, unlike Thind and co-defendant Bikramjit Brar, 46, who pleaded guilty.police Brar received three years and four months; runner Leandrea Lynch, 49, received a two-year-and-six-month suspended sentence.police

A network dismantled, a warning delivered

The street value of drugs seized across the entire operation reached approximately £174,000, with the active dealing period running from October 2024 to July 2025.police +1 Coordinated raids on 1 July 2025 turned up heroin and crack cocaine, digital scales, packaging materials, large amounts of cash, multiple mobile phones and "tick lists" of transactions.police Detective Inspector Mark Gavin of the Met's Specialist Crime unit said Dhillon had "abused a position of trust in the most serious way" and that the case demonstrated "no-one is above the law".police Last year, officers disrupted serious and organised crime groups more than 21,000 times — a 63 per cent increase compared to 2024.police