A grandad EncroChat dealer was busted after posting selfies from his own home.
Garry Reid, 54, who used the handle 'Lockstar', supplied huge quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis across Wirral. Liverpool Crown Court heard messages from his Encrochat handle included mention of seven kilos of heroin costing £20,000 as well as talking about five kilos of cocaine costing £41,000 and the use of adulterants.
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Martyn Walsh, prosecuting, explained when police managed to gain access to the encrypted network that Reid had included his home address, photographs of himself and his home and mention of his children. Police raided his home in February last year and he has been in custody since.
Reid, of Ackers Road, Woodchurch, pleaded guilty to three conspiracies involving the supply of cocaine, heroin and cannabis between March 23 and June 5, 2020. Mr Walsh said: “He was directing or organising the buying and selling of cocaine and heroin on a commercial scale."
The court heard that Reid, who has five grandchildren, has 11 previous convictions including three for possessing cannabis, for which he was fined. Ian Harris, defending, said Reid had pleaded guilty and had never received a prison sentence before. He has now been in custody for just over a year.
He pointed out the conspiracy charges only covered a short period and said the amounts of Class A drugs involved were less than claimed by the prosecution. He explained the phone had been given to him and he was “very much a middle man.”
Mr Harris said Reid, who had a large number of supporters in the public gallery “was a heavy cocaine user and they became involved in these transactions.” Mr Harris said that tragically Reid has learned his mum is now on ‘end of life care’ and he will not be there for her. “It is a matter which weighs heavily on him.”
Recorder Blakey told Reid: “It is clear from the messages that you were an integral part of the conspiracies. Examples of them demonstrate that you were organising and buying on a commercial basis. It is said by your counsel that you were a middle man but you were a little further up in the organisation because of the trust and responsibility given to you in relation to the ways in which you carried out transactions.”
A judge told Reid that examples of his Encrochat messages “demonstrate that you were organising and buying on a commercial basis.” On Friday Reid was jailed for nine years and three months.
Detective Inspector Peter McCullough said: “Reid is the latest in a long line of criminals put behind bars after their involvement in drug dealing was revealed data shared on EncroChat. These criminals believed they were evading police by using the network, but they were sorely mistaken and many are now counting the cost of their criminality in jail cells.
“Reid was supplying significant quantities of illegal drugs, and I hope he will use the time he has in prison to reflect on the risks he took and the harm he has caused. Our work to identify and track down the criminals who used EncroChat to peddle drugs and weapons continues, and those not yet arrested should be under no illusion – you should expect a knock at your door.
“Merseyside Police, along with law enforcement agencies across the world, will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of those people who think they are above the law, and we will continue to target anyone involved in serious organised crime to keep this positive momentum going.”
Anyone with information on drug dealing is asked to contact @MerPolCC, 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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