Michael Riccio puts his head in his hands after being found guilty of a ‘revenge’ plot

Michael Riccio was found guilty of firearms offenses after plotting a “revenge” to shoot up EncroChat.

The 37-year-old, of Ambleside Road in Allerton, stood trial at Liverpool Crown Court over his use of the handle ‘LeadFern’ on the encrypted communications platform. Messages exchanged over the network were said to have shown his efforts to acquire a rifle “to give someone a leg up” as he amassed £2.5m in old £20 notes while dealing guns and drugs.

Riccio admitted he used the account to facilitate the supply of heroin and cocaine, but denied using it to trade weapons. He said instead that other criminals who had access to his device were responsible for conversations involving firearms.

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But he was convicted of three counts of transfer of a prohibited weapon and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon by an 11-to-one jury this afternoon on Monday. The verdict was handed down after 14 hours and 25 minutes of deliberations.

The jurors unanimously found him guilty of money laundering. However, they were unable to reach verdicts on two other firearms charges.

The prosecution will not request a retrial on these grounds, and Riccio was remanded in custody ahead of his scheduled July 5 sentencing. He reacted by nodding and putting his face in his hands.