Gang sentenced to more than 90 years behind bars

Seven Encrochat drugs gang members who supplied nearly 200kg of cocaine across the north of England have been jailed for more than 90 years. The gang was led by dad-of-three John Porter, known as HuntedElf, who at one point travelled to Dubai to attend a "high level criminal meeting".

He was assisted by James Cook, who used the Encrochat handle ScorpionBar, and Paul Cook, SappyFlicker, who were engaged in the day-to-day management of the drugs operation. Brothers Matthew and Daniel O’Keefe, SpicySalad and StaleCake, acted as couriers for drugs and money, acting on instructions which included vehicle descriptions, passwords, and postcodes where transactions were to be carried out. A third brother, John O’Keefe, who was not an Encrochat user, also acted as a courier on four occasions when his brothers were not available.

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Money obtained in the massive operation was taken to Marco Riley, GrumpyRhino, who used serviced offices in Fazakerley to count, bundle, vacuum pack and store the cash for onward distribution. He reported his work directly to James and Paul Cook.

All seven men appeared in Liverpool Crown Court today, September 26, having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (cocaine) between August 1 2018 and June 30 2020. James Cook, Paul Cook, Marco Riley, and the O'Keefe brothers also pleaded guilty to money laundering, in connection with the conspiracy. Porter, 44, from Formby, also pleaded guilty for conspiracy to commit arson between April 20 2020 and June 1 2020.

Prosecutor Alexander Leech said the men had been involved in "the wholesale supply of cocaine on an enormous scale", and their conspiracy had been discovered after French authorities cracked the encrypted Encrochat network in 2020. He said: "During the EncroChat capture period, approximately 200kg of cocaine was supplied, in wholesale, multi-kilogram quantities, across the conspiracy as a whole.

"The conspiracy was organised, effective and profitable. The very substantial profits were counted, recorded, packaged and distributed to allow for onward trade and the remuneration of conspirators.

The court heard John Porter played the leading role in the conspiracy, organising the purchase of large quantities of cocaine from a supplier. He regularly communicated with Paul Cook and James Cook, the latter of whom travelled with Porter to Dubai "in order to attend a high-level criminal meeting".

Further messages showed, in April and May 2020, Porter plotted to burn down a rival's gym over a £90,000 drugs debt. Threatening messages were sent by Porter to Encrochat user QuietBell, and another user, MaddMaxx, later offered to set fire to the user's gym. Porter agreed and provided the user's name and address - however, no arson attack ever took place.

Mr Vaughn KC, defending Porter, said: "Porter is a married man with three children. Having only one unrelated minor matter against him, we invite the court to treat him as a man of good character. How he finds himself in this position is difficult to fathom because over the last number of years since his arrest he has done nothing but think about the position he's in.

"Up until February 2020 Porter was not involved in any type of criminal activity whatsoever. In February 2020 he was in Dubai on work matters when he fell in with a friend of a friend, and that friend introduced him to somebody who had an offer of work for him. It's against that background Porter because involved in this conspiracy

"It was subsequent to the return home that messages were exchanged and Porter became involved in a conspiracy. It's accepted that Porter's involvement was for a three or four month window. He knows for that three or four months criminality, he will pay a heavy price."

Ian Whitehurst, defending James Cook, who has no previous convictions, said: "He is a young man still, with a family. The defendant is a man of no previous convictions. What he has grown to realise is the devastating impact this has had on his partner and two children and all his extended family.

"This defendant has, in the last three years, become a model prisoner, demonstrating engagement and a desire to rehabilitate himself."

David Birrell, defending Daniel O'Keefe, a dad of one, said: "He's lightly convicted for four offences. He does have a conviction for drugs supply, but it's 25 years ago when he was still a teenager. Following that he was out of trouble for 20 years, and during that time he worked on railways and then went to work in the family motoring business, and thankfully that job remains open to him."

Daniel Travers, defending Mathew O'Keefe, he said: "Your Honour will have read a letter from the defendant himself which properly expresses genuine remorse and deals with the hardship he has caused to his family, and his regrets as to what he is missing in prison." Also defending John O'Keefe, he said: "Four kilos (of cocaine) on two occasions was delivered, and the defendant was consequently paid £600, which of course may now, in the cold light of day, seem like a small amount of money for a substantial disruption in his family's lives. He filled in for his brothers no doubt as neither of them was available. He performed a very limited role. He was not himself using an Encrochat device."

Peter Killen, defending Paul Cook, said: "He has pursued every activity and educational opportunity which he has been able to obtain in custody. During his three years on remand he has exhausted the opportunities available to him as a remand prisoner. Having done all he can to make the best of his time, he's come up against a block. He was previously a man of good character. That's a significant feature in this case. He does show genuine remorse."

Robert Wyn Jones, defending Marco Riley, said: "He’s supported today by members of his family, his children and brother and sister. He bitterly regrets missing the first years of his grandchild’s life. There’s clearly a very different side to him. The references that have been written are glowing, from people who are themselves impressive."

• John Porter, 44, of Dobbs Drive, Formby, was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison

• James Cook, 42, of Mereview Crescent, West Derby, was sentenced to 14 years and three months

• Paul Cook, 39, of Marford Road, West Derby, was sentenced to 14 years and three months

• Marco Riley, 47, of Sonning Avenue, Litherland, was sentenced to 13 years and six months

• Matthew O’Keefe, 47, of Kings Road, Bootle, was sentenced to 12 years

• Daniel O’Keefe, 44, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to nine years and five months

• John O'Keefe, 34, of Oxford Avenue, Bootle, was sentenced to seven years