A man's trip to the chippy led to him spending almost 30 years behind bars.
Thomas Speed was identified as the user of the EncroChat handle "Simple Creek" after his supposedly secret messages showed him referring to a chip shop near his home, as well as his asphalt business.
He and two other men, James Salkeld and Scott Roseau, were jailed for a total of more than 65 years behind bars on Monday after using the encrypted communications platform to trade firearms and wholesale quantities of Class A drugs.
A trial at Liverpool Crown Court revealed that Speed and Roseau were involved in the supply of heroin and cocaine "at a commercial level", trading in kilogram quantities for tens of thousands of pounds each. They also used the accounts 'SimpleCreek' and 'MysticKangaroo' respectively to arrange deals for weapons before the network was infiltrated by French police in 2020, the Liverpool Echo reports.
READ MORE: The man's decision to help his partner when she gets tired backfires spectacularlyStephen McNally, prosecuting, described how the former was linked to his username by the North West Regional Organized Crime Unit after being called "Tom" by other users, while also telling user "FlameCalm" that he was being called "Speedy". during a conversation. Speed, of Moorhey Road in Maghull, meanwhile was asked "is that tarmac?" by "SlightDrake" on March 30, 2020, after owning a company called Maghull Surfacing Limited.
The 37-year-old further referenced this work when he spoke to "HuntedElf" on April 2, sending a photo of paving stones he had erected, alongside the message: "I have 35 m2 to do this street then I'm done Easy bye, flag out, mac in."
Speed later arranged a meeting with "SkiBat" on April 14, saying, "Go to the shops at our buddy's. The Seabreeze chippy, I'll be there in ten."
His home was said to have been just "a matter of yards away and a minute's drive" away. The father also sent a photo of his children playing in his living room to Hunted Elf, informed "KingWasp" that his birthday was April 26 and said he had been subjected to a serious attack that left him with head injuries and was taken to Aintree in May Hospital went. 8.
Roseau - from Daubeney Road in Hackney, east London - was meanwhile unmasked as Mystic Kangaroo via messages revealing his name. Cell location and automatic number plate recognition data also linked the movement of the 41-year-old's Encro phone, his personal cellphone and rented Mercedes.
And Salkeld was found to have been the user of the handle "BestGolfer" through posts about his brother's arrest, a trip to Amsterdam and the death of a relative. The 37-year-old man from Delamore Street in Kirkdale had to be extradited from the Netherlands to Britain after his arrest in November 2022, after he also used EncroChat to map the supply of firearms, heroin, cocaine and cannabis.
Speed's previous convictions include a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for Class A drug trafficking in 2008. Alaric Walmsley, defending, told the court: "There have been large parts of his life where he has engaged in legitimate and, for some, degrees, successful businesses.
"He, for whatever reason, has adopted this way of making a living in 2020. For this, Your Honor sees the businesses that he has built in the past and that have been able to support his family in a legitimate way."
Roseau's criminal record includes citations for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2003 and supplying heroin in 2007 following the recovery of a quantity of Class A drug, £10,000 in cash and a bag of bullets, shell casings and gunpowder. His counsel Jon Harrison said: "He was last convicted in a court of law some 17 years ago.
"Prior to 2003, he was a person pursuing further education and working toward a legitimate and positive lifestyle before an incident at a children's party turned into a serious adult situation involving a firearm. He developed an addiction to heroin, which led to his other offenses ."
"Mr. Roseau became clean and fathered three children and took responsibility for another with substantial needs. He got his life back on track, although the jury concluded that he was indeed Mystic Kangaroo."
Mr Harrison argued that it could not be concluded that a deal for a firearm had been successfully concluded, adding: 'There was no evidence of a lavish lifestyle. He could not be said to possess anything of any real value.
"He has a number of family members who will be negatively affected by his absence. Mr. Roseau wants to get back to them as soon as possible."
Salkeld has previous convictions for anti-social behavior and driving, the last of which came before the courts when he was given eight months for affray in 2019. Sam Parham said on his behalf: "A letter from his ex-partner is evidence of a positive side to his character. .
"His remorse, we have pointed out, is genuine. We say this is reflected in the way he behaves in custody.
"He has had an extremely positive association with the Samaritans and played a positive role there. He has put his repentance into practice and achieved positive results for others and very positive change in himself."
Speed was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to possess firearms for sale or transfer, conspiracy to possess ammunition and conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. When he appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool he had been jailed for 28 years.
Roseau was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to possess firearms, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition and conspiracy to deliver heroin and cocaine. His supporters burst into tears and left the courtroom as he was sentenced to 22 years.
Salkeld pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition and to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was imprisoned for fifteen years and four months.
Judge Louise Brandon said at sentencing that Speed had "the ability to purchase firearms as and when" while Salkeld had "acted as an intermediary" in the supply of weapons, adding: "You have contributed to the demotion and the human misery that drugs cause. for those who took them, the families of those who took them and the wider society affected by the crime. Inevitably, your own families will suffer as well.
