Arron Corkovic aged 35 of Dixon Avenue in Salford, appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week to be sentenced for his involvement in serious crime – including the supply of heroin, firearms and ammunition.
Corkovic, who had previously been sentenced to 13 years imprisonment due to his role in a violent robbery at a Morrisons supermarket in Whitefield back in 2013, was released after eight years and bound by strict conditions imposed upon him through the use of a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO).
Despite this, he quickly acquired an EncroChat mobile phone and, by using the handle ‘stealthy’, ingratiated himself in the world of serious organised crime, connecting with a network of criminals across Salford, Manchester, Merseyside and Dubai.
His crimes were uncovered when the EncroChat network was compromised by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2020, which showed Corkovic had been communicating with another EncroChat user, arranging the supply of one kilogram of heroin for the price of £16,000.
Yesterday, he received a sentence of nine years for the conspiracy to supply class A drugs and four years for the S44 Serious Crime Act 1977 offence of intentionally encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offence (namely to transfer a firearm) – for them both to run consecutively.
DC Steven Walker in GMP’s Organised Crime Unit said: “The conviction of Arron Corkovic is another significant result arising from the compromise of the Encrochat network – a communications network utilised exclusively by organised crime groups.
“Despite spending the best part of his twenties in prison, Corkovic has demonstrated his intention to continue where he left off in what he anticipated would be a lucrative alternative to being a law-abiding citizen.
“Even after being given the benefit of an early release under licence conditions, he immediately became involved once again in the most serious of crimes that cause the most harm to our communities – selling heroin, firearms and ammunition.
“Having enjoyed a short period of freedom, he is now paying the price for his decision.
“GMP will continue to investigate and prosecute offenders for their participation in the Encrochat network under Operation Venetic and I would like to thank our partners, the National Crime Agency (NCA), for their assistance.
“I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of the Crown Prosecution Service and Counsel in this case for bringing it to a satisfactory conclusion.”
Corkovic will now be subject to a confiscation order under POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act) at a later hearing.
