A gangster from Dundee who used an encrypted chat app to deal with his Glaswegian drugs suppliers has been jailed for four years.
Jonathan Wales, 37, relied on Encrochat to keep his involvement in the racket secret but was caught when Dutch and French law enforcement agencies cracked the network’s encryption.
Police discovered Wales was using it to get cocaine, heroin and valium tablets from a man called Richard Parvin.
The messages showed Wales was handing over tens of thousands of pounds to acquire narcotics, which he stored at addresses in Dundee.
Encryption cracked
Earlier this year, Prosecutor Greg Farrell told the High Court in Edinburgh police learned Wales was speaking to Parvin on Encrochat using the handle “Deftwelder” – his accomplice was using the name “Olivescalp”.
The messages showed Wales was ordering kilos of drugs with adulterant substances.
On Wednesday, Wales, of Riddell Terrace, Dundee, appeared for sentencing.
Lord Ericht said: “There’s no alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Mr Farrell said the Crown plans to pursue a proceeds of crime action against Wales, who has 19 previous convictions.
Prosecutors also plan to apply for the court to pass a serious crime prevention order against Wales, who pled guilty to being involved in “serious organised crime” by participating in activities which he knew would “enable or further commission serious organised crime” by selling, supplying and acquiring drugs.
Drugs gang busted
He and Parvin, then aged 38, Neil Brown, 34, Francis Ross Sr, 47, George McLean, 32, Francis Ross Jr, 22, Craig Mitchell, 30, and 34-year-old John Cord admitted involvement in a £400,000 drugs operation.
The group are all from Dundee apart from Parvin, of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, and McLean, from Easterhouse in Glasgow.
Detectives went on to make other drug raids linked to the probe.
After a cocaine handover at Ross Jr’s home in Dundee, police found £319,000 of the drug in a clothes shop bag as well as £10,000 of heroin.
At Ross Sr’s Dundee home, a further £24,000 of heroin was discovered.
Brown was linked to heroin and street Valium pills found in a car in May 2019 after two men were seen running from the vehicle in the city.
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