A serving magistrate who swore to uphold the law has instead been jailed for helping facilitate a major Class A drugs operation, following one of the Metropolitan Police’s most significant organised crime investigations.
Purshotam Dhillon, 59, was sentenced to seven years in prison after detectives uncovered his role in a sophisticated west London network responsible for supplying heroin and crack cocaine worth around £174,000 across the capital.
His conviction has sent shockwaves through the justice system after it emerged the former magistrate allowed his home to be used as a base for storing, weighing and packaging drugs, while also permitting a van loaded with heroin to be parked outside his property.
The investigation also brought down the gang’s alleged leader, Hardeep Thind, 48, also known as Harry Singh, who was jailed for 12 years and six months. Bikramjit Brar, 46, received three years and four months, while Leandrea Lynch, 49, was handed a suspended prison sentence of two years and six months.
Together, the four were sentenced to more than 25 years behind bars.
Crime boss ran network from prison
Police revealed the operation was orchestrated by Thind, who astonishingly continued directing the drugs network while serving a 17-year prison sentence for previous offences involving heroin, cocaine and possession of a Skorpion submachine gun.
Using an illicit mobile phone inside an open prison, Thind allegedly controlled multiple drug lines before resuming full control of the operation after his release in October 2024.
Detectives say he quickly rebuilt the network across Hayes, Southall and surrounding areas, recruiting dealers and coordinating wholesale supplies of heroin and crack cocaine across west London.
Months of surveillance
The investigation began after officers identified a highly active drugs line known as “Hadi”, which supplied a large customer base throughout west London.
Specialist detectives spent months analysing phone records, forensic evidence, surveillance footage and digital downloads, identifying Thind as the central figure communicating with every member of the organisation.
Investigators also uncovered voice notes referring to him as “the plug” – street slang for a high-level drugs supplier.
Co-ordinated dawn raids across west London led to the arrests of all four suspects. Officers recovered significant quantities of heroin and crack cocaine, cash, mobile phones, digital scales, packaging equipment and detailed “tick lists” recording drug transactions.
‘Abused a position of trust’
Detective Inspector Mark Gavin, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said Dhillon’s actions represented a serious betrayal of public confidence.
“As a serving magistrate, Dhillon abused a position of trust in the most serious way. This case demonstrates that no one is above the law, and those who engage in criminality will be held accountable.
“County lines are far more than drug dealing – they exploit the vulnerable and fuel violence. We remain committed to relentlessly pursuing those responsible.”
Police say the investigation dismantled a well-established organised crime group responsible for causing significant harm across London.
The Metropolitan Police added that tackling organised drug supply remains a priority, with officers disrupting more than 21,000 serious organised crime groups and criminal networks last year – a 63 per cent increase on the previous year.
