Runcorn drug dealer who left UK after Encrochat exposure jailed

Officers went to Phillips's home address on 26 October 2021 to arrest him but he had fled abroad

A man who fled to the Netherlands after being exposed as a drug dealer when police cracked an encrypted global messaging service has been jailed.

Cheshire Police said the national Encrochat investigation showed Andrew Phillips using it to supply drugs.

The force said the 38-year-old fled his home in Abbey Hey, Runcorn, but was tracked down to a house in Haarlem.

He admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced to 14 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court.

A police representative said an analysis of Phillips's messages showed that between 27 March and 2 June 2020, he arranged multiple deliveries of cocaine and cannabis and the onward distribution of the drugs.

They said he supplied at least 26lb (12kg) of cocaine and 75lb (34kg) of cannabis during the period.

Bundles of cash were seized from Phillips's home by officers investigating his crimes

Officers went to his home address on 26 October 2021 to arrest him but he had fled abroad.

Working with the National Crime Agency and Dutch authorities, he was found and arrested as he left a house in Haarlem on 30 March 2022.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Insp Nick Henderson said Cheshire Police had been "relentless" in pursuing those who have so far been identified as using EncroChat.

He said criminals like Phillips had believed it "would always be a safe and secure service" which would allow them "to message freely and openly without being detected", but while he "reaped the rewards of his criminality... it was always going to catch up with him".

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