A selfie from the dentist was sent by Khan Gorgulu to his crime partner – and was then used by police to identify him and prove his involvement in supplying cocaine and cannabis to Alderley Edge
A drugs gang boss was caught after he took a selfie at the dentist’s chair.
Khan Gorgulu, 23, from Red Bank, Manchester, sent the picture to his crime partner. The police went on to use this photo to identify him and prove he was involved in selling cocaine and cannabis in Alderley Edge. Gorgulu has now been put in prison for six years and six months. He was found guilty of planning to sell class A and B drugs after an eight-day trial at Chester Crown Court.
The person he sent the selfie to on a burner phone, Giovanni Spada, 37, from Shaw Drive, Knutsford, was put in prison for six years in October last year. He admitted to planning to sell class A and B drugs.
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Cheshire Police started looking into the selling of cocaine and cannabis between January 2021 and February 2022. They found many people working together and collected proof of them operating in Alderley Edge and nearby areas between November 2020 and January 2021, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Spada and Gorgulu were both leaders of a Crime Group. They bought lots of drugs from Rochdale, Essex, and Wales before bringing them to Cheshire. They then sold the drugs themselves or through other dealers, around the local area and further away.
Spada and Gorgulu were also involved in getting the drugs ready for selling, including mixing cocaine to make more money. Spada took payments for drugs straight into his bank account and over two years, evidence showed he got more than £47,000.
Gorgulu also got payments adding up to more than £33,000 from other people over two years. In this same time, he gambled lots of money and put money into stockbrokers and digital money. Cheshire Police started looking into the gang after they arrested Spada in January 2021, when officers went to a house in Alderley Edge to arrest him for something else.
A search of the house found lots of cash, cannabis, and cocaine, as well as scales, small bags, and mobile phones. They found a total of 996.7g of cannabis and 71.13g of very pure cocaine, worth up to more than £14,400. During the investigation, police found more evidence of drug dealing. This included lists used by the gang to keep track of their accounts.
Messages were also found on mobile phones used by the group to advertise drugs for sale, plus other messages about selling drugs. The mobile phones showed that Gorgulu was involved in selling drugs. He had been using a fake name to avoid getting caught, but the police found a photo of him at the dentist which he had sent to Spada along with messages about drugs.
After this and other detective work, the police were able to identify him and prove he was part of the plot. Police Constable Sam Needham said: “This is a great result, with two drug dealers jailed for a long time and a lot of illegal drugs taken off the streets. Our investigation put both Spada and Gorgulu at the top of the OCG, making lots of money from their crimes.”
“But, this case shows that crime does not pay both were brought to court to answer for what they did and, even though Gorgulu tried to deny he was involved, both are now in prison. I hope this makes the community feel safer knowing that we are working hard to stop illegal drugs activity and if anyone is worried about this happening where they live, they should contact us through our website or by calling 101. You can also tell us information without giving your name by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
