Skip to content
Arrested, under investigation or called for interview? Our lines are open 24/7. What to do now Call 020 7183 5765
LP Evans Solicitors & Advocates 020 7183 5765
HomeAbout
About the FirmWhere We ActHow We WorkMission & ValuesFunding Your CaseTestimonials
Services
Criminal DefenceFraudConfiscationDrug OffencesSexual OffencesTerrorism
TeamNewsCareersContact 24/7, 020 7183 5765

If the police want to speak to you, speak to us first.

We are criminal defence solicitors on Fleet Street. We have acted in some of the most serious cases in the country, and we answer the phone at any hour.

Call 020 7183 5765 Send us a message

Advice at the police station is free to everyone, whatever you earn, and it does not commit you to anything.

The Lady of Justice on the dome of the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court

The record

Published results, not promises.

Selected from matters the firm has published. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results are not a guarantee of any particular outcome.

What happens next.

  1. 1

    You call us

    Any hour. You speak to a solicitor, not a call centre, and nothing you say goes further.

  2. 2

    We come to you

    At the police station, wherever it is in England or Wales. We are there before the interview, not after it.

  3. 3

    We work the file

    Disclosure, cell-site, CCTV, expert evidence. The detail others skip is usually where the defence is.

Services

Where are you in the process?

The right help depends on what has happened so far. Choose the situation closest to yours, or call the 24-hour line and speak to a solicitor.

Under investigation or called for interview Get advice before you answer any questions, from a voluntary interview to a dawn arrest. What to do now Arrested or charged Police station attendance, bail, and preparing your defence for the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. Criminal defence Convicted, sentenced or facing confiscation Confiscation and Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings after a conviction, from the first application to enforcement. Confiscation

Or choose by type of case.

Each page sets out what we handle, how a case runs, questions people ask and results from published matters.

Investigations and police station

Criminal Defence

Representation from the police station to the Crown Court.

  • Police station attendance, day or night
  • Interviews under caution, voluntary or after arrest
  • Advice and representations before any charge is brought
  • Bail applications

Serious crime

Drug Offences

Supply, importation and conspiracy, including large scale cell-site and organised crime allegations.

  • Possession with intent to supply
  • Supply and street dealing
  • Importation of Class A drugs
  • Conspiracy and organised crime allegations

Specific allegationsClass A Drug Importation

Sexual Offences

Discreet, rigorous defence in single and multi complainant allegations.

  • Allegations by a single complainant
  • Allegations by more than one complainant
  • Historic allegations
  • Rape and sexual assault

Specific allegationsRape and Sexual Assault

Terrorism

Offences under the Terrorism Acts, control measures, asset freezing and extradition.

  • Offences under the Terrorism Acts 2000 and 2006
  • Possession or collection of material and downloading allegations
  • Preparation of terrorist acts
  • Receiving terrorist training

Financial crime

Fraud

HMRC prosecutions, money laundering, cash seizures and complex commercial fraud.

  • HMRC criminal investigations
  • VAT and MTIC fraud
  • Bank, mortgage and insurance fraud
  • Money laundering

Specific allegationsMoney LaunderingVAT and MTIC Fraud

Confiscation

Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings, from first application to enforcement.

  • Confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
  • Restraint orders freezing assets
  • Challenging the benefit figure
  • Challenging the criminal lifestyle assumptions

Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, number 563520. Legal Aid Agency contract. Established 2011. Advice at the police station is free to everyone.

You are not the first person to make this call.

We have appeared in 26 courts across the country, from Truro to Catterick. Whatever has happened, we have almost certainly seen something like it before, and we will tell you honestly where you stand.

What clients have said
Truro Crown CourtBristol Crown CourtPoole Magistrates' CourtWinchester Crown CourtLewes Crown CourtCanterbury Crown CourtBasildon Crown CourtIpswich Crown CourtCentral Criminal CourtCourt of AppealSouthwark Crown CourtWoolwich Crown CourtIsleworth Crown CourtKingston Crown CourtInner London Crown CourtNottingham Crown CourtBirmingham Crown CourtStafford Crown CourtMold Crown CourtLiverpool Crown CourtManchester Crown CourtSheffield Crown CourtLeeds Crown CourtHull Crown CourtTeesside Crown CourtCatterick Court Martial Centre TruroIpswichCentral Criminal CourtLiverpoolCatterick
26 courts named in our published cases. Truro to Catterick, Liverpool to Ipswich.
  • Truro Crown Court
  • Bristol Crown Court
  • Poole Magistrates' Court
  • Winchester Crown Court
  • Lewes Crown Court
  • Canterbury Crown Court
  • Basildon Crown Court
  • Ipswich Crown Court
  • Central Criminal Court
  • Court of Appeal
  • Southwark Crown Court
  • Woolwich Crown Court
  • Isleworth Crown Court
  • Kingston Crown Court
  • Inner London Crown Court
  • Nottingham Crown Court
  • Birmingham Crown Court
  • Stafford Crown Court
  • Mold Crown Court
  • Liverpool Crown Court
  • Manchester Crown Court
  • Sheffield Crown Court
  • Leeds Crown Court
  • Hull Crown Court
  • Teesside Crown Court
  • Catterick Court Martial Centre
Gave me clear and direct advice and were always there to help me with any questions, responding to them with a solution.

Patricia, March 2025. One of four five-star reviews on ReviewSolicitors.

The people you would be working with.

Yaqub Hussain

Sole Proprietor

Yaqub Hussain

Yaqub has built a niche practice in the field of criminal law. Having litigated in a number of major cases in recent years, ranging from serious fraud, homicide and terrorism, Yaqub is seen as a major player in the field of serious crime.

Read full bio
y.hussain@lpevans.com 07823 440046
Zoe Maria Nicola

Solicitor

Zoe Maria Nicola

Zoe has been a leading criminal solicitor for the last 20 years, appearing in some of the UK’s highest profile cases. A solicitor with meticulous attention to detail on her cases and a strong belief in the rights of the accused make her one of the most sought-after criminal solicitors in the country.

Read full bio
z.nicola@lpevans.com 07957 426815
Alex Sirghi

Solicitor Advocate

Alex Sirghi

A highly accomplished criminal defence lawyer, Alex’s professional achievements include having provided criminal defence services in high profile cases, several of which are regarded as notable. As an accredited Criminal Duty Solicitor and Higher Rights Advocate, Alex is a member of the Criminal Litigation Scheme and able to advise anyone arrested for any type of criminal offence.

a.sirghi@lpevans.com 07803 548428

1 / 3

Sole Proprietor

Yaqub Hussain

y.hussain@lpevans.com 07823 440046

Yaqub Hussain deals with a succession of serious cases, especially drugs and murder. He also has a substantial fraud practice; recent instructions include HMRC and bank fraud, and large scale money laundering. He acts for a number of high profile clients.

Yaqub made his name acting for the defence in the Heathrow liquid terror plot and today is recognised as one of the most dynamic and committed solicitors in the country. He has been featured in an article about modern Muslim heroes, and in Emel Magazine.

Mr Hussain is also LP Evans’ designated Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA).

Looking at life in prison, Yaqub was everything I needed in the Terror Liquid Plot. An inspiration who is savagely loyal to his clients. In court he is possibly the most professional and well mannered person I have seen, and this respectful approach is seen in every aspect of his dealings and demands respect from everyone he meets. If you need someone in your corner that will fight for you the best they can then Yaqub is top of the pack. I would highly recommend him to anyone and everyone.
DSW

Notable cases

Terrorism

  • R v S and Others (Woolwich Crown Court): conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners with liquid bombs. Client acquitted.
  • R v R: preparing acts for terrorism; conviction being reviewed by the CCRC.
  • R v R (Court of Appeal): possession of explosives. The defendant had a previous terrorism conviction; the case was dismissed by the judge on abuse of process grounds and the Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal.

Drugs

  • R v LW (Basildon Crown Court): significant Class A conspiracy; the accused was recorded handing over a quantity of cocaine. Defence of lack of knowledge. Acquitted.
  • R v S (Birmingham Crown Court): importation of Class A through UK airports, and firearms.
  • R v R (Leeds Crown Court): importation of millions of pounds of Class A drugs (the ‘James Bond jet ski’ plot).
  • R v A (Liverpool Crown Court): Operation Starlight international drugs conspiracy. Client acquitted.
  • R v AA (Teesside Crown Court): conspiracy to supply Class A. Client acquitted by the jury.
  • R v IA (Southwark Crown Court): conspiracy to supply Class C medication. Client acquitted by the jury.
  • R v S and Others (Sheffield Crown Court): large scale conspiracy to supply Class A. Client acquitted by the jury.
  • R v S and Others (Woolwich Crown Court): Colombian cocaine importation. Supergrass case.
  • R v M and Others (Ipswich Crown Court): major importation of Class A drugs.

Murder

  • R v L (Winchester Crown Court): 28-year-old acquitted of a ‘body in the boot’ murder in Bournemouth.
  • R v C (Central Criminal Court): 14-year-old charged with the murder of an 18-year-old.
  • R v N (Central Criminal Court): teenager acquitted of murder, along with his brother who was acquitted of perverting the course of justice.
  • R v XS (Central Criminal Court): defendant extradited from Albania, alleged professional hitman. Yaqub and his team persuaded the Crown to accept the lesser charge of possession of a firearm.
  • R v S and Another (Central Criminal Court): murder, with complex issues of joint enterprise.
  • R v F and Another (Isleworth Crown Court): child cruelty resulting in death.

Fraud and other

  • R v DG and Others (Sheffield Crown Court): landmark case under the Gangmasters Licensing Authority where hundreds believed their employers to be fully licensed. Defendant acquitted by the jury.
  • R v M and Others (Stafford Crown Court): lead defendant on multiple modern day slavery charges.
  • R v SP (Southwark Crown Court): high profile UAE official. Client acquitted of all charges.
  • R v O (Bristol Crown Court): lead defendant in an organised grooming and sexual abuse case. Acquitted by the jury.
  • R v C (Birmingham Crown Court): lead defendant in a large tobacco fraud privately prosecuted by a major Chinese tobacco firm.
  • R v H (Southwark Crown Court): large timeshare fraud across multiple jurisdictions, prosecuted by three separate agencies.
  • R v I (Manchester Crown Court): one of the largest mortgage fraud investigations in the country.
  • R v R (Central Criminal Court): one of the defendants in the largest ever seizure of firearms to enter mainland Britain.
  • R v D and Others (Southwark Crown Court): gang involved in a multi-million-pound conspiracy to steal expensive vehicles at gunpoint.

Client identities are protected. Every case turns on its own facts; past results are not a guarantee of any particular outcome.

Solicitor

Zoe Maria Nicola

z.nicola@lpevans.com 07957 426815

Zoe has extensive experience representing those facing the most serious allegations, including deprivation of citizenship, terrorism, murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual offences, money laundering, fraud, confiscation proceedings, firearms and violent offences, robbery, multi-handed drug importations and conspiracies, and death by careless driving.

Zoe qualified in 2002 and since then has had conduct of numerous high-profile criminal cases. Her expertise lies in terrorism and fraud, and she excels at the forensic, detailed analysis required when dealing with accounting, forensic and cell-site data. She has also represented clients pursued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and is regularly instructed to defend in serious sexual offences.

Zoe has been instructed by an international corporate client in a European multi-jurisdictional mutual assistance money laundering investigation, where a settlement was ultimately secured: work which involved advice on European arrest warrants. More recently she acted in several multi-handed drug and county lines cases, and represented an interested party in the inquest into the deaths arising from the London Bridge and Borough Market attack of 3 June 2017.

Zoe is accustomed to liaising with all arms of law enforcement on a daily basis, and to digesting vast volumes of evidence: forensic, banking, cell-site, telephone, expert and witness material: then preparing summaries, briefs to counsel and advice to clients.

Notable cases

Terrorism

  • R v H & H and Others (2001–2003): IRA case involving two brothers charged with conspiracy to cause explosions in London and Birmingham; the last Real IRA bombing campaign of its kind on the UK mainland.
  • R v M and Others (2006): arrest of Bradford students under ss.57 and 58 Terrorism Act 2000 relating to downloading ‘extremist’ literature. Conviction subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal.
  • R v A (2006): directly connected to the transatlantic liquid bomb plot; s.38 Terrorism Act 2000. Acquittal secured.
  • R v M and Others (2006–2008): multi-handed case involving receiving terrorist training, linked to the 7/7 bombings, under s.6 Terrorism Act 2006.
  • R v K and Others (2008): man accused of soliciting the murder of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
  • H2 v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2013): SIAC case involving international terrorism and illegal rendition.
  • R v H and Others (2016): allegations of funding a proscribed terrorist organisation in Syria.
  • R v A (2013): murder of a soldier, relying on a novel defence of ‘under the Queen’s peace’. Investigated by SO15.
  • London Bridge Inquest (2019, Central Criminal Court): representation of an interested party at the inquest into the deaths of eight individuals killed on 3 June 2017.

Drugs

  • R v A and Others (2019): multi-handed £65 million conspiracy to manufacture steroids.
  • R v A and Others (2021, Kingston Crown Court): multiple count indictment relating to a conspiracy to supply Class A as part of a county lines operation.

Fraud

  • R v G (2009): bank fraud, nine co-defendants, conspiracy to steal and false accounting, involving voluminous accounting and telephone data. Acquittal secured.
  • Public Prosecutor’s Office Netherlands v Lycamobile (2011): brought by the Dutch National Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Criminal Assets Deprivation Bureau regarding possible tax violations. Settlement secured.
  • R v A (2012, Central Criminal Court): ten-week multi-handed million-pound Cisco fraud.
  • R v S (2012): bank fraud involving forensic analysis of banking documents, transactions and mobile phone data, with substantive disclosure issues. Acquittal secured.
  • R v M and Others (2016): conspiracy to defraud prosecuted by the London Borough of Redbridge; false claims to housing and in-work benefits totalling over £1,600,000, followed by POCA confiscation proceedings.
  • R v H (2018, Southwark Crown Court): £6 million conspiracy to cheat the public revenue by diverting funds owed to HMRC through a network of accounts in the UK, Dubai, Jersey and Switzerland.

Client identities are protected. Every case turns on its own facts; past results are not a guarantee of any particular outcome.

Contact us

Talk to us today.

We represent clients all over the country, from the North East to the South West, as well as clients based in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. We are always willing to travel to meet clients at a convenient location.

Telephone, 24/7
020 7183 5765
Office address
107 Fleet Street
London EC4A 2AB
Opening hours
Monday – Friday, 09:30 – 17:30
Emergency line answered 24 hours a day

Enquiries sent outside office hours are picked up the next working day. If the matter is urgent, please call 020 7183 5765.

Email us Call 24/7