EncroChat dealer made ecstasy pills shaped like Donald Trump

A cocky EncroChat dealer pumped out ecstasy pills shaped like Donald Trump in a secret storage unit.

Jay Roberts, of Nelson Road, Ellesmere Port, who bragged about his success, used the handle 'Ripebrow' on the encrypted messaging network.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, he used EncroChat to buy and sell cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, and cannabis. But the now 31-year-old didn't just buy in drugs - he used a storage unit to make his own using a pill press, the Liverpool Echo reports.

An image taken from a storage unit used by Roberts showed a press covered in blue powder where Roberts would manufacture ecstasy pills to dish out to his customers. The pictures showed he pressed the pills into a variety of shapes and designs, including the logo of courier company UPS and the face of former US president Donald Trump.

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Roberts was undone when detectives from Cheshire's serious and organised crime unit gained access to the EncroChat network after the encrypted messaging service was hacked in April 2020. Analysis of the data showed Roberts discussing the sales of Class A and B drugs between March 2020 and June 2020.

Following the breakthrough, police saw Roberts boasted about how the covid pandemic could prove beneficial to his criminal empire. Messages showed he talked about how the additional restrictions put in place would render other drug dealing competitors out of pocket and unable to access their supply.

Roberts banked on this meaning the market for illegal drugs would increase and he would be able to make even more profit. Roberts used his national upstream suppliers to source large amounts of drugs before then redistributing the supply to other EncroChat users. Roberts was also clearly trusted to accrue multi-kilo drug orders on "tick" or "credit" and would at times be in over £100,000 worth of debt to his suppliers.

He began operating at such a high level of criminality that he was in early discussions about the potential importation of significant quantities of controlled drugs into the UK. Roberts enjoyed the high life that his illicit business temporarily bought him, with pictures released by the police showing him posing with racehorses, driving flash cars and jetting off on sunny holidays to places like the Maldives.

The scale of his criminality was assessed, revealing that Roberts sourced 19 kilograms of cocaine, three kilograms of MDMA, 1.5 kilograms of ketamine, and 23 kilograms of cannabis between March 2020 and June 2020.

At around 1.40pm on Tuesday, November 28 2023, ANPR cameras alerted officers to a white Mercedes travelling on the M6 that had previously been linked to Roberts. With assistance from the police helicopter, officers surrounded his car, forcing him to come to a stop, and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A controlled drugs.

After he was arrested and taken into custody for questioning, his home was searched, and significant quantities of cocaine and cannabis were found. A storage unit used by Roberts was also identified and searched. This led to the discovery of his ecstasy pill press, a cash counting machine and other drug paraphernalia, including dealer lists.

He was charged with an array of drug offences, including conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs and being concerned in the production of a Class A drugs. Roberts pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, MDMA ketamine and cannabis, conspiracy to produce MDMA and possession of criminal property. He was jailed for 14 years in prison at Chester Crown Court on Friday, May 3.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Henderson, of Cheshire Police's serious and organised crime unit, said: "We have been relentless in pursuing those who have so far been identified as using the secretive encrypted device in order to commit organised crime, and Roberts is one of many who thought they could operate above the law, but my team were hot on his tail."

"Roberts was a well-established organised criminal and a key player in the large-scale commercial drugs business, supplying substantial amounts of illegal drugs in the Chester and Ellesmere Port areas which he profited from and led to him living a lavish lifestyle."

"He reaped the benefits of his ill-gotten gains while the rest of the country were adhering to lockdown restrictions, but it was always going to catch up with him. Thanks to the work undertaken by my detectives who analysed the messages, he is now behind bars facing justice."

"This shows that no matter what you think you are doing to cover your tracks, we are one step ahead. We will do everything we can to make sure that each and every individual involved in serious and organised crime pays for the misery that they bring to communities across Cheshire."