'Tribal Quest' cocaine dealer negotiated 12 kilo deals with customers

A serious organised criminal pursued a lavish lifestyle and used the nickname "Tribal Quest" as he peddled huge amounts of cocaine to customers.

Stephen Christian used an Encrochat phone to communicate with associates as he negotiated prices for 12 kilograms of cocaine from criminals who were involved in importing bulk amounts.

The Widnes man used the encrypted messaging service which was last year smashed by European cyber experts, leading to thousands of arrests, and seizures of weapons and drugs.

The 43-year-old's data was analysed by detectives from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) last summer after it was cracked by international law enforcement.

He used the name "Tribal-Quest" to try and stay under the radar and one occasion, on May 22, 2020, he travelled to Blackpool to collect a large amount of money from an associate he was speaking to on EncroChat.

Christian, previously of Roscommon Way, was jailed for 15 years at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Stephen Christian, from Widnes, was jailed for 15 years (cheshire police)

After detectives had gathered evidence, on July 1, last year, he was arrested and his two addresses, one on Roscommon Way in Widnes and another on Roseheath Drive, in Halewood, Merseyside, were searched.

A search of Roscommon Way led to police seizing designer clothing, shoes and a Rolex watch, as well as almost £3,000 in cash and eight mobile phones.

Christian was then cautioned and subsequently charged.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Evans, from Cheshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “This is a significant sentence resulting solely from detectives analysing telecoms data over a two-month period under the codename Operation Venetic.

“Christian was a well-established organised criminal who supplied multi-kilograms of class A drugs which he profited from and led to him living a lavish lifestyle.

“He used this service to speak openly about his criminality believing it to be safe and secure. It means the evidence was so strong that he had no choice but to admit to his involvement in the conspiracy.”