‘Roidsville’ EncroChat drug conspirator to repay £6k of £825k gains

Warrington-based gang members Samuel Brough, Nathan Bradley, Michael Murray and Gary Stevens supplied close to £2million in illegal drugs nationwide.

The quartet used encrypted mobile phones in a bid to hide their criminal enterprise from police, as well as work vans to transport controlled substances and huge cash sums during Covid lockdowns.

However, their criminal enterprise came crashing down after law enforcement officers cracked the EncroChat system they were using.

They were jailed for more than 31 years at Chester Crown Court, with Brough being imprisoned for 12 years, Bradley for eight years, Murray for six years and Stevens for five years and three months.

Brough, of Warrington Road in Dutton, has already appeared back before the court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, to determine how much of his ill-gotten gains he must repay.

The court ruled that the 34-year-old benefitted from £2,411,182.64 in total, but he was told he must repay just £617.34 – or face an additional week in prison as default if he cannot pay.

Bradley and Murray have also been back before the court recently, with the former benefiting from £825,885.13 and Murray from £46,814.65.

In the case of Murray, no available assets were found so he will repay nothing, while Bradley must repay £5,849.50 within three months, or serve an additional four months in jail by default.

The court previously heard how the quartet were arrested and charged as part of Cheshire Police’s Operation Modifier – an investigation derived from the international Operation Venetic following the EncroChat takedown.

Brough was identified through his use of EncroChat phones – with the handles “OneSyrup” and “TopStory” – and an investigation began into his illegal activity in March 2021.

Data captured over an 11-week period resulted in evidence that he was involved in the supply of no less than 42kg of cocaine and 49kg of cannabis, generating no less than £1.9million.

However, there was also extensive proof that he had been involved in such criminality long before this brief period uncovered by Operation Venetic.

Samuel Brough, Michael Murray and Gary Stevens

During the course of the various chat logs, Brough shared and received many images of vacuum-packed cannabis, kilo blocks of cocaine and large amounts of cash.

One photo was of a Rolex watch that had been used as payment or part payment to him, and he talked about having adulterants available in order to dilute cocaine before onward distribution.

The geographical scope of his business extended into Scotland, with one customer telling Brough he wanted 4kg of high purity cocaine to sell on in the Dundee area.

In relation to that transaction, the customer had £56,000 in cash ready for Brough, and arrangements were being made for a courier to take 2kg of high purity cocaine to Dundee.

As these offences were taking place during the Covid lockdown, and there was a fear of couriers getting stopped, Brough revealed that he had a courier with a cleaning business – the defendant Murray – who could use his work van, thus limiting the risk of a police stop.

On one occasion he asked him to collect £70,000 in cash from a Warrington postcode for him as the area was ‘swarming with police’.

There was also conversation where Brough refers to having slot cars, with professional hides within the vehicle, on the road if someone needs to transport cash.

Brough and his co-defendants also used other secure forms of communication such as WhatsApp, Wickr and Snapchat, while there was evidence that Bradley was in discussions about Russian encrypted SIM cards.

Bradley, aged 32, initially used an EncroChat device with the handle ‘Roidsville’, before taking over one under the handle ‘RelevantWelder’ in May 2020.

He was found to have discussed sorting a full-time drug courier, with evidence suggesting he had a ‘high degree of an operational role’.

The defendant, of Rennie Drive in Latchford, was involved in the supply of no less than 3kg of cocaine and 33kg of cannabis, as well as the movement of £321,000 in cash.

Murray meanwhile operated as a courier, with the use of a work van enabling him to transport drugs and cash during lockdown with less chance of being stopped by police.

The quartet were sentenced at Chester Crown Court

There were at least 11 days of activity between March and May 2020 involving the 34-year-old for the group, during which he visited the organised crime group’s Manchester premises, known as the ‘office’.

Here he collected and delivered 5kg cannabis to Carlisle and a further 5kg to Scotland, before returning with £60,000.

The dad-of-three, of Maple Road in Winwick, also made other trips to places including west Yorkshire, Birkenhead, Derbyshire, Knowsley and Lancaster.

The court heard that Murray was involved in the supply of 1.25kg of cocaine and 17.5kg of cannabis.

The third defendant, Stevens, is Bradley’s 39-year-old cousin, and he also operated as a courier.

He was active prior to the EncroChat data capture period, having made trips to deliver and collect drugs and cash to Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington and Chester.

There are at least five days of activity involving Stevens, of Starkey Grove in Latchford, for the group, travelling to west Yorkshire and Carlisle.

The prosecution said that Stevens was involved in the supply of at least 1.25kg of cocaine and 6.5kg of cannabis, playing as significant a role as Murray, but at a lower level.

DS Ryan Willis, of Cheshire Police, previously said: “This is part of a long running operation to strike at the heart of gangs who peddle drugs on a large-scale causing misery and pain in our communities for their monetary gain.

“Through our commitment and determination in fighting serious and organised crime, we were able to uncover the full extent of their criminality.

“We are working hard to pursue drug dealers and those instrumental in its distribution to protect the public from harm.

“I hope the conviction sends yet another message to the criminal fraternity that we will not stop making life difficult for those intent on illegal activity within Cheshire.”