A man from Wirral has been jailed after he was found to have sourced, purchased and sold large amounts of Class A drugs to prominent local drug dealers.
Dean Anderson, 46, of Tudorville Road, Bebington was sentenced to 14 years and four months at Cheshire Crown Court earlier this month after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis. Anderson was described in court as being at the "top of the tree" of the drug trade, supplying large amounts of class A and B drugs to other criminals.
On Friday, September 2, the court heard how Anderson used Encrochat and had sourced, purchased and sold roughly 30kg of cannabis, 20kg of heroin and 20kg of high quality cocaine between April 3 and June 2 2020. Anderson ran his large-scale business through the Encrochat codenames "tendayer" and "famoussquid," and sold large quantities of drugs locally, and throughout the UK, as far as Scotland.
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At the time Anderson owned and operated 'Bromborough Skip Hire.' It is believed the firm is now under new ownership with no connection to Anderson's crimes.
The court heard how Anderson's sold large quantities of drugs to Mark Cavanagh, 32, the head of an organised crime group that flooded Ellesmere Port and Chester with Class A drugs. Cavanagh, previously of Ellesmere Port, was jailed for 14 years in September 2020 after a 10 month operation by the police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit.
After detectives collated evidence against Anderson, they arrested him at his flat on Ryefield Lane, Liverpool on Friday, September 11 2020 and he was taken him into custody before being charged.
Two years later, on Friday, September 2 2022, during his sentencing Judge Steven Everett described Anderson as at the "top of the tree" of drug supply and criticised him for his role in destroying the lives of those trapped in drug addiction. Anderson was sentenced to 14 years and four months at Cheshire Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis.
Detective Chief Inspector Ian Murray, of Cheshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “Anderson was at the top of the chain when it came to operating in serious and organised crime.
"He was at the highest level running a serious and large-scale commercial drugs business supplying substantial amounts of cocaine, heroin and cannabis purely to make a profit. He chose to do this by operating under the radar, using an encrypted and sophisticated device that would keep his communication secretive in order to avoid detection.
“After EncroChat was infiltrated officers were able to comb through the messages attributed to Anderson that led to his arrest and being put behind bars for a long time.”
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