Trio of drug dealers busted on motorway after cops open secret compartment
The gang shipped huge quantities or heroin and cocaine across the country using names such as 'TupacDon' and 'Simonsays', before their operation came crashing down.
A trio of big-time drug dealers are the latest crooks to be busted after police hacked the encrypted messaging platform EncroChat.
The gang shipped huge quantities or heroin and cocaine across the country using names such as 'TupacDon' and 'Simonsays', before their operation came crashing down - when cops stopped found a secret compartment of a car on a the M61.
As the Manchester Evening News reports, Mohammed Omayr, 41, from Chorlton; Abdul Bahadir, from Oldham, 41; and Husnain Ali, 36, from Bolton, have all been handed lengthy jail sentences after a probe uncovered 'dirty' cash, designer clothes and watches.
Omayr headed up the sale, distribution, returns, testing, storage, and payments for a huge haul of class A drugs, according to Greater Manchester Police.
He directed his courier, Bahadir, to shift massive amounts of cash and to deliver drugs to customers across the country on a daily basis, with stashes of cocaine and heroin hidden in a compartment of his car.
Bahadir, who also ran Omayr's 'stash houses', had originally acted as the gang's accountant, but later became a courier as their business became more and more successful, using the EncroChat handles 'TupacDon' and 'Simonsays'.
Ali took over Bahadir's role of the gang's accountant, which saw him counting and packaging the money for onward delivery and storage.
The trio used the now defunct encrypted messaging platform, Encrochat, which allowed crooks to communicate safely away from eyes of law enforcement agencies.
That ended when investigators hacked into EncroChat's server in Roubaix, northern France, in April 2020, sending bogus updates to devices across the globe which effectively mined the incriminating data criminals wanted so much to conceal.
Detectives brought the trio to justice after trawling through thousands of messages they exchanged as part of their operation, with Ali also using same handles on occasions.
Officers swooped on the evening of Tuesday, July 28, in 2020, stopping a car on the southbound carriageway of M61. Bahadir was at the wheel while Ali was a front seat passenger.
Police searched the car, uncovering the secret compartment which was packed full of cocaine, mixing agents, and digital scales. They were both arrested.
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Later that evening, police raided a series of properties in Oldham and Chorlton. At Bahadir's address in Oldham, police recovered over £157,000 in cash hidden around the property, a vacuum packing machine, digital scales, and 'vast amounts' of luxury designer clothing.
At Omayr's home in Chorlton, police found almost £25,000 in cash, designer clothing and a watch. On his driveway, he had a black Lamborghini Urus, estimated to be worth more than £200,000 and more cash.
The men were finally brought to justice when they were jailed at Manchester Crown Court on Monday (June 16).
Omayr, of Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, was jailed for 16 years and four months after a jury had earlier convicted him of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Bahadir, of Allama Iqbal Road, Oldham, was jailed 11 years and six months. Ali, of Spinning Mews in Bolton was sentenced to eight years and 11 months. The pair had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
After the hearing, Det Con Bryan Deighton, of Bury police, said: "These men went to great lengths to conceal their illicit enterprise, they used encrypted mobile phones and built a hidden compartment in the cars they used to transfer the commodity in, all in an attempt to operate in secret.
"These men were driven by greed and spent their obscene proceeds of crime on designer clothes and flashy cars, unbothered that this wealth was gained at the expense of vulnerable drug users.
"I hope today's sentence is a stark reminder to criminals across Greater Manchester, regardless of time passed, we continue to investigate those who used encrypted phones, and we will continue with our relentless pursuit until you are brought to justice."
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