An Encrochat dealer tried to order kilo amounts of drugs from Amsterdam and transfer millions of pounds in cash to Ecuador.
Michael Doyle was jailed earlier this week for his role in a cocaine, heroin and amphetamine conspiracy. He used the handle “Battle-Hawk” to communicate with other criminals and organise for supplies of drugs to be brought into Merseyside during the first half of 2020 - but was caught after a cross border effort to hack the messaging service.
Messages heard at Liverpool Crown Court earlier revealed that while much of the 44 year old’s criminality was focused on the UK, he appeared to have aspirations to spread his business further afield.
READ MORE: Encrochat dealer 'Battle-Hawk' hid cocaine block in kitchen cupboard
Charles Lander, prosecuting, told the court messages recovered from “Battle-Hawk’s” account revealed that in April 2020 he negotiated with another dealer, “earthlyraptor”, about supplying “tops”, kilo amounts of cocaine, and “bots”, kilo amounts of heroin, from the Netherlands.
Referring to the messages, Mr Lander said: “‘Earthlyraptor’ is clearly under the impression the Defendant’s contacts are wide ranging as he comments “mate you got any one over in dam..who can get bots looked at for us ” – the word “dam” is a known shorthand reference to Amsterdam.”
“Earthlyraptor” later confirmed to Doyle that he could supply cocaine to him for £39,500 per kilogram. That conversation was not the only one which pointed to Doyle’s wish to move drugs across borders, with other messages referring to “plane jobs” and “fish jobs” in what a police drugs expert said was reference to the movement of drugs by air and sea.
In another conversation that played out over months, Doyle chatted with another of his 55 Encro contacts, “Madeirablue”, about the prospect of sending large quantities of money to South America. Doyle asked “Madeirablue” “do you have any1 who send doe to Ecuador”, to which they replied “how much and when”. Doyle then confirmed it was “3 mill euro soon as poss”.
Mr Lander said the conversations continued into the summer of 2020, with Doyle later confirming to “Madeirablue” that the money was in “the flat” - the Netherlands. The messages stopped soon after as the police hacked the Encro network and criminals began to abandon the service.
Prosecutors said the messages with “Madeirablue” shed light on Doyle’s criminality, though they accepted they could not prove the deal had ever been finalised. He was eventually arrested in 2021. Police raided his Bickerstaffe home and found a vacuum sealed package of cocaine in his house.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and amphetamine as well as possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Doyle, of Heyescroft, was jailed for 12 years.
