A Nottingham drug dealer who conspired to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis using an encrypted messaging platform has been jailed.
Jordan Serrant used EncroChat – which has now been dismantled – to communicate securely with other criminals.
The 42-year-old used it to organise the purchase of large quantities of Class A and B drugs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nottingham Crown Court heard he spent upwards of £54,000 on the drugs in order to make vast profits.
An investigation found he either travelled or sent someone else to collect the drugs from places such as Liverpool, Bradford and London.
The court heard Serrant led the operation and that he was arrested after police managed to track the EncroChat conversations he was having with a broker.
EncroChat offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service with 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 in the UK.
Since 2016, international law enforcement agencies worked together to target EncroChat and agencies in France and the Netherlands infiltrated the platform.
The intelligence gleaned through this was then shared via Europol to law enforcement agencies.
Through studying messages garnered from the EncroChat infiltration in April 2020, officers identified Serrant as being involved in the supply of Class A and B drugs.
Officers executed a warrant at his home address in Helston Drive, Strelley, in September 2020, with cash and quantities of drugs recovered.
Serrant went on to plead guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis between April and June 2020.
At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday (29 April), he was jailed for 10 years and four months.
Sergeant Gina Northwood, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“It was clear from the encrypted messages that Serrant was running a well-established enterprise, handling harmful drugs in kilo quantities.
“The length of sentence handed to him shows how this type of criminality will not be tolerated and should serve as a warning to others thinking of supplying drugs.
“We work every day to tackle those involved in organised criminal activities and our message is clear – if you think you can commit crime in Nottinghamshire and get away with it, you’re wrong and we’ll put you behind bars.”
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, which seek to recover any assets or funds obtained through criminal activity, will take place later this year.
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