Key cog in drug gang to repay only £600 of £2.4m gains

Samuel Brough was one of three ring members of an operation moving illicit substances and huge cash amounts across the country.

The 34-year-old used encrypted mobile phones in a bid to hide his criminal enterprise from police.

However, this came crashing down following law enforcement officers cracking the EncroChat system, exposing his hugely profitable enterprise.

Brough was part of a Warrington-based gang consisting of himself, Nathan Bradley, Michael Murray and Gary Stevens.

The Dutton man, of Warrington Road, between Runcorn and Northwich, was sentenced before Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.

He was imprisoned for 12 years – taking the total jail time up to more than 31 years – with Bradley, Murray and Stevens previously incarcerated for eight years, six years and five years and three months respectively in January.

The case of Brough was listed back before the court this week for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, to determine how much of his ill-gotten gains he must repay.

It was ruled that the defendant benefitted from a total amount of £2,411,182.64.

Taking into account his financial situation, a judge ordered that he must repay just £617.34 – or face an additional week in prison as default if he cannot pay.

The court previously heard how the quartet were arrested and charged as part of Cheshire Police’s Operation Modifier – an investigation derived from the international Operation Venetic following the EncroChat takedown.

Brough was identified through his use of EncroChat phones – with the handles “OneSyrup” and “TopStory” – and an investigation began into his illegal activity in March 2021.

Data captured over an 11-week period resulted in evidence that he was involved in the supply of no less than 42kg of cocaine and 49kg of cannabis.

The money generated over this period was no less than £1.9million.

However, there was also extensive proof that he had been involved in such criminality long before this brief period uncovered by Operation Venetic.

During the course of the various chat logs, Brough shared and received many images of vacuum-packed cannabis, kilo blocks of cocaine and large amounts of cash.

Nathan Bradley, Michael Murray and Gary Stevens were jailed previously

One photo was of a Rolex watch that had been used as payment or part payment to him, and he talked about having adulterants available in order to dilute cocaine before onward distribution.

The geographical scope of his business extended into Scotland, with one customer telling Brough he wanted 4kg of high purity cocaine to sell on in the Dundee area.

In relation to that transaction, the customer had £56,000 in cash ready for Brough, and arrangements were being made for a courier to take 2kg of high purity cocaine to Dundee.

The trip also involved the courier picking up cash from Fife and Carlisle on the way back.

As these offences were taking place during the Covid lockdown, and there was a fear of couriers getting stopped, Brough reveals that he has a courier with a cleaning business – the defendant Murray – who could use his work van, thus limiting the risk of a police stop.

On one occasion he asks him to collect £70,000 in cash from a Warrington postcode for him as the area is swarming with police. Once collected, a picture of the cash is sent to Brough.

There is also conversation where Brough refers to having slot cars, with professional hides within the vehicle, on the road if someone needs to transport cash.

The prosecution submitted that Brough played a “leading role in organising, buying and selling on a commercial scale and in the expectation of substantial financial gain”.

Brough and his co-defendants also used other secure forms of communication such as WhatsApp, Wickr and Snapchat, while there is evidence that Bradley was in discussions about Russian encrypted SIM cards.

These cost around £1,250 for a six-month subscription and feature ‘spoofing’ software to disguise the number and voice modulation to prevent voice identification.

Bradley, aged 32, initially used an EncroChat device with the handle ‘Roidsville’, before taking over one under the handle ‘RelevantWelder’ in May 2020.

He was found to have discussed sorting a full-time drug courier, with evidence suggesting he had a ‘high degree of an operational role’.

The dad was involved in discussing which driver to send to Manchester to either deliver or collect 5kg of cannabis, as well as sourcing 1kg of cocaine.

The defendant, of Rennie Drive in Latchford, was involved in the supply of no less than 3kg of cocaine and 33kg of cannabis, as well as the movement of £321,000 in cash.

The court heard he played between a ‘leading and significant role’. He had his own drug dealing on a commercial scale, as well as working alongside others in an operational role organising drivers.

Chester Crown Court

Murray meanwhile operated as a courier, with the use of a work van enabling him to transport drugs and cash during lockdown with less chance of being stopped by police.

There are at least 11 days of activity between March and May 2020 involving the 33-year-old for the group, during which he visited the organised crime group’s Manchester premises, known as the ‘office’.

Here he collected and delivered 5kg cannabis to Carlisle and a further 5kg to Scotland, before returning with £60,000.

The dad-of-three, of Maple Road in Winwick, also made other trips to places including west Yorkshire, Birkenhead, Derbyshire, Knowsley and Lancaster.

The court heard that Murray was involved in the supply of 1.25kg of cocaine and 17.5kg of cannabis, playing a significant role with some awareness of the scale of the operation, from the quantities of drugs and cash he handled to the geographic spread of his role.

The third defendant, Stevens, is Bradley’s 39-year-old cousin, and he also operated as a courier.

He was active prior to the EncroChat data capture period, having made trips to deliver and collect drugs and cash to Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington and Chester.

There are at least five days of activity involving Stevens, of Starkey Grove in Latchford, for the group, travelling to west Yorkshire and Carlisle.

The prosecution said that Stevens was involved in the supply of at least 1.25kg of cocaine and 6.5kg of cannabis, playing as significant a role as Murray, but at a lower level.

The sentencing of Brough was welcomed by DS Ryan Willis, who was part of the investigation for Cheshire Police.

He said: “This is part of a long-running operation to strike at the heart of gangs who peddle drugs on a large-scale causing misery and pain in our communities for their monetary gain.

“Through our commitment and determination in fighting serious and organised crime, we were able to uncover the full extent of Brough’s criminality.

“It has been proved by a meticulous and thorough investigation that the total overseen by Brough came to almost £2million, which is a significant amount.

“We are working hard to pursue drug dealers and those instrumental in its distribution to protect the public from harm.

“I hope the conviction sends yet another message to the criminal fraternity that we will not stop making life difficult for those intent on illegal activity within Cheshire.”