EncroChat dealer ‘Jesse Pinkman’ ran a multi-million pound amphetamine farm

A sophisticated EncroChat operation that produced millions of pounds worth of amphetamines in a remote cottage was run by a drug dealer who used a Breaking Bad-themed handle.

The plot involved criminals from Merseyside, West Lancashire and Yorkshire who used encrypted phones to communicate and create an elaborate network of supply chains across the country. But the gang’s illicit dealings were uncovered following the hacking of EncroChat by European authorities in April 2020.

The gang members have since been jailed for a staggering total of over 200 years. But before then, the operation was hugely profitable, making millions from the gang while transporting their amphetamines across the UK. After the last member of the gang was jailed this week, the ECHO took a look back at the operation brought down by a multi-force probe.

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The gang’s encrypted phones gave the conspirators a sense of invincibility thanks to their assurances that what they were doing was completely clandestine. However, they ultimately proved to be their downfall. In the aftermath of the attack, UK law enforcement authorities, including the National Crime Agency (NCA), Merseyside Police and North Wales Police, were given evidence showing the extent of the conspiracy.

A series of messages alluded to a laboratory on the outskirts of Chester being used to produce amphetamines. Officers from Merseyside Police and North Wales Police later discovered the factory on Deeside Lane in the Sealand area of ​​the city. A tribunal previously heard that the North Wales investigation was code-named Operation Bluesword and surveillance work on the cottage began.

However, on or around 1 May some of the gangs, who were “no doubt paranoid about being detected by the police, identified the presence of North Wales surveillance vehicles/officers who had recently started surveillance around Wood Cottage’. The site has been “suddenly closed”.

Undeterred, the organized crime group (OCG) continued their attempts to manufacture amphetamines by moving supplies to a storage unit at an industrial site in Aintree known as the Box Works.

The communications detailed arrangements for the supply of a total of 900 liters of amphetamine oil and between 780 kg and 1,000 kg of amphetamine sulphate paste. The equipment has supplied customers as far afield as Dundee, Glasgow, Neath and Newcastle.

A North Wales police officer estimated that the lab turned 2.6 tonnes of crude chemicals into controlled drugs over a three-month period, which was estimated to be worth more than £1 million. He said: “That was the extent of the manufacturing enterprise; raw materials were moved to site with factory cars and HGVs involved in logistics”.

Various court proceedings did not explain why the operation focused on amphetamines as opposed to more popular drugs such as cocaine. Two of the key advantages may have been cost and affordability to produce. At £900 for a two-kilogram packet, the drug is a fraction of the cost of cocaine, which can fetch more than £30,000 a kilo. The drug can also be produced domestically using affordable chemicals instead of being imported from South America and Europe.

However, complex chemical processes are required and it is a tedious process for those trained to do it. This is even more true of injectable amphetamine, which allows users to feel the drug’s effect more quickly – and which the gang focused on. The Honorable Judge Denis Watson KC, who presided over the various cases at Liverpool Crown Court, said: “The (amphetamine) manufacture was large-scale, commercial and involved complex processes and specialist apparatus. It required patience, skill, determination, toughness. labor and sourcing and obtaining specialty chemicals It was a long and dangerous process.

“None of those involved in the production were trained chemists, but the rewards were enough for those involved to overcome their lack of training so that high-quality injectable amphetamine was then distributed throughout England.” He described the scale of the operation as “vast”.

The work took time and was complicated. EncroChat messages described the harshness of the effects of the chemicals and the intensity of the labor. However, they seemed determined not to cut corners. Paul Mount, one of the gang’s top men, along with Anthony Saunderson and Darren Owens, became particularly adept at using the Leuckart method, a chemical process, to produce amphetamines – and he and others discussed improving the process to ensure that their product matches the customers. the standards.

When a dealer in Manchester complained about a batch of drugs being introduced to those users, Mount and Saunderson struggled to figure out how the mistake happened – and later decided to use only certain substances chemicals to ensure it won’t happen again.

Their commitment to perfecting the production of amphetamines did not dampen their enthusiasm for dealing in other drugs – and indeed some gang members were found to be dealing in cocaine and heroin. Despite this, amphetamine remained at the heart of their business – and it was a decision that paid off. Trading with cities in Britain, their profits were estimated at £6 million.

Saunderson, Mount and Owens arguably ran the gang’s operations, the former using EncroChat handily named after Breaking Bad character Jesse Pinkman and Sopranos actor James Gandolfini. Mount went by the handle “Nova-Club,” while Owens went by “PaperJaguar” and “PierreWhite.”

But they also relied on an elaborate network of co-conspirators. Kieron Harley (BigWaiter) and Lee Eccles worked 10 hour days making the dangerous chemicals in the lab. Stephen Shearwood, who went by the handle “Octo-ice”, Michael Pope (Strikingpuma) and David Kelly (Atom-game) took on various roles in the operation, including transporting drugs and cash around the country and storing chemicals. Stefon Beeby was also involved in the production and supply of amphetamines from the cottage, and when he was arrested, his brother Mark became involved in the illicit business and took control of the EncroChat handle ‘ParkPlum’.

Their illicit operations probably continued for so long because they had legitimate businesses they could use as cover to transport the drugs and chemicals needed to make them, even during the covid lockdown of early 2020. Owens ran Eurowindows , a double glazed business in Huyton. and used his vehicles to transport supplies across the country.

Beeby, nicknamed ‘Halifax’ after the West Yorkshire town where he was based, had a truck which was sometimes used to transport drugs. However, the majority of the haul fell heavily on the shoulders of Shearwood, nicknamed ‘the jockey’.

After the gang became suspicious, they moved their supplies to the Box Works warehouse. They set up another factory, the location of which is still unknown to this day, but was suspected to be in the Bootle area, but with the law enforcement net closing, the gang started to get nervous.

Saunderson and Mount tried to arm themselves, while Adam Ashton appeared to become aware that EncroChat was hacked before it became public knowledge in June. Ashton, who was originally from Yorkshire and acted as a go-between for Merseyside OCG members and the Beeby brothers, sent another user a message the previous month saying: ‘These phones are not safe for anyone. I’ll show you what I just saw and heard. He later fled the UK to Spain by ferry.

After the EncroChat hack was made public, NCA officers moved in and raided several locations, including Box Works. Saunderson, Owens, Mount and most of their associates were arrested. Ashton was finally detained on a European arrest warrant on 21 September 2022, having most recently been returned to the UK on 4 August last year.

While some of the gang pleaded guilty once charged by the CPS, it took two trials to convict the rest. The group’s efforts to make their injectable amphetamine may have given their business an edge – but it has had devastating consequences for the gang members since their arrest.

Amphetamine is a Class B drug, and convictions for its production or supply normally attract less prison terms than drugs such as cocaine and heroin. However, under UK law, modifications to any class B drug to make it injectable moves it up into category A. This, combined with the staggering amounts the gang dealt in, is a significant reason behind the terms long that many of the gang members are now facing.

Detective Inspector Paul McVeigh of Merseyside Police previously said: “Each of those convicted took part in the business for at least significant financial gain and, although they all played different roles and were involved to varying degrees, they were all aware of the extent of the operation. .

“We know the devastation that drug trafficking brings to our communities. Those involved in the supply of drugs and the use of weapons have no regard for the lives they affect and the harm they can cause, and we are committed to pursuing and bringing those involved in serious and organized crime to justice “.

Saunderson, 42, from Formby, was jailed for 35 years and Mount, 38, from Halsall, West Lancashire, was given 34 years. Owens, 48 ​​and from Huyton, was given 24 years.

Thirty-two-year-old Hartley, from Knotty Ash, got 23 years, Stefon Beeby, 42, from Halifax, was jailed for 15-and-a-half years and Eccles, 33 years, of Maghull. , was imprisoned for eight years and nine months.

Shearwood, 38, also from Maghull, was jailed for 14 years and four months. Forty-four-year-old Kelly, from Ormskirk, was given 15 years and three months. Pope, aged 35 and from Maghull, was given 17-and-a-half years. Twenty-nine-year-old Connor Smith, from Maghull, was jailed for seven years and 11 months.

Mark Beeby, 46, was then given 10-and-a-half years last month. Ashton was sentenced to eight years and four days in prison, taking into account the time he spent in Spain before extradition.

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