Michael Taylor aged 43 from Newton Heath has been jailed for 10 years and Shaun Lewis aged 55 from Liverpool has been jailed for 6 years after they were both found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
GMP Serious Organised Crime Group began to investigate the pair in 2020 after they gained access to the encrypted conversations between Lewis and Taylor on the back of the takedown of the encrypted network EncroChat.
Despite the pair giving ‘no comment’ interviews in December 2022, the messages detailed their entire operation.
Taylor, operating under the name of ‘truebaker’ on his device, orchestrated events, using his trusted courier and storeman Lewis – also known as ‘shallowfrog.’
Over a period of three months, the men were involved in purchasing over 200kg of cocaine, 61kg of cannabis, and responsible for moving over £300,000 of their ill-gotten gains.
The estimated street value of this quantity of drugs is estimated to be around £8 million.
Their drug dealing operation came to an end when officers swooped in and arrested Taylor and Lewis following warrants in December 2022.
Detective Inspector Paul Crompton of GMP Serious Organised Crime Group said: “These criminals thought they were safe, operating below the radar, hidden behind perceived anonymity whilst they conducted their criminal businesses using encrypted phones.
“Unfortunately for them, a series of once encrypted messages and a meticulous investigation by my team revealed an evidence trail that has landed them both in jail.
“The levels of violence and exploitation linked to the illegal drugs supply in the UK is not to be underestimated, not only are we going after the ringleaders, but we’re disrupting those mid-tier criminals like Taylor and Lewis before they can make their way up the chain and cause even greater harm to our communities.”
