A drugs boss involved in a huge cocaine trafficking conspiracy was foiled by a mural of UFC star Conor McGregor on his wall. A jury convicted 36-year-old Ryan Palin after they decided he was the user of the EncroChat handle 'Titch.com', which detectives had identified after the encrypted phone network was hacked by French and Dutch police.
Palin was discovered to be the person behind 'Titch.com' by the Conor McGregor mural pained on the side of his home address in Caldy, the Wirral, when detectives found pictures of it on his EncroChat device. Palin denied he was the man behind the handle throughout his trial, LiverpoolECHO reports.
Police found indicators of a luxury lifestyle when they raided Palin's home on December 9 last year with designer clothing worth £136,000 and watches worth £129,000. Pictures were released by police of Rolex watches, Balenciaga clothes and Chanel handbags, discovered in the property.
Palin's arrest came after an investigation with European law enforcement agencies working alongside the National Crime Agency (NCA). Palin was jailed for 29 years at the conclusion of his trial after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply 700kg of cocaine, 15kg of heroin and 40kg of amphetamines at Liverpool Crown Court. Detective Sergeant Graeme Kehoe said: “We welcome the verdict and sentence and now that Ryan Palin is behind bars and can no longer peddle huge amounts of drugs and misery on the streets of Merseyside and beyond.
"Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Palin chose to go to trial. Fortunately the jury saw through his lies and Palin can now consider the consequences of his actions while he serves a significant time in jail.
"Palin’s substantial sentence should serve as a stark warning to anyone involved in this criminality that there are serious consequences. We simply won’t let people live off the profits of criminality while our law-abiding communities work hard to make an honest living - we will find you and bring you to justice.
"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.
"We rely on our local communities to be our eyes and ears as part of these investigations and I would continue to urge people to come forward if they have information which could assist us."
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