'Evening officer' cop killer went on to become Encrochat money launderer for OCG

A man who gloated "evening officer" before killing an off-duty policeman laundered millions of pounds of dirty money for a drug gang under the EncroChat name "Astralcleaner". Timmy Donovan's name became infamous on Merseyside for his sickening killing of police Constable Neil Doyle on a night out in Liverpool city centre.

Donovan, now 40, was released on licence after only three years - but was in the pages of the ECHO in 2021 when he was charged in connection with an investigation into the EncroChat network following a raid at a Wavertree car showroom. Nearly four years after his charge, Donovan was due to go on trial in Manchester this month.

However, on the eve of his trial Donovan and his co-defendants admitted their offences and will be sentenced at the start of February. As part of a weekly series looking back at Merseyside's criminal history, the ECHO has taken a closer look at Donovan's life of crime - from cop killer, to organised crime heavyweight.

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PC Doyle, who had worked for Merseyside Police for a decade, was on a Christmas night out in December 2014. PC Doyle mostly worked in Liverpool and was known as a "well-liked" and "respected" operational officer. He had professionally been commended for his actions when arresting three men in a violent offensive robbery.

During his night out he became involved in a clash with another group of men, who were celebrating a birthday outside a city centre nightclub. That group included football agent Andrew Taylor and sports event manager Donovan. Taylor tried to claim PC Doyle "went for him" after he said hello as a joke.

However, criminal proceedings heard the two attackers recognised PC Doyle as a police officer and taunted him by saying "evening officer". They tried to claim this was a term of endearment, but Donovan was heard to say to PC Doyle and his off-duty colleagues: "I told you not to front me - I gave you the chance to walk away and you didn't listen."

When the attack broke out, the newly-married constable was hit by a "piledriver punch." The street attack took place outside the Aloha Bar on Colquitt Street in the early hours of December 19 2014, part of which was captured on CCTV and also showed PC Robert Marshall being kicked and punched.

Donovan left the UK on the day PC Doyle was fatally injured. He was treated as a wanted fugitive as he attempted to evade arrest. Also once known as O'Sullivan, the dad was stopped by police in Düsseldorf, Germany, trying to board a flight back to the UK. When Donovan and Taylor appeared before the court, they both denied they were the ones who had delivered the fatal blow to PC Doyle.

Violent Donovan said it "all broke out very quickly" and accepted he struck PC Marshall with "excessive" force and stamped on him on the floor after "seeing red". The thugs went on trial with a third man, originally charged with murder. While the third man was cleared of all offences, Donovan and Taylor were found guilty of manslaughter.

Donovan was handed a six year and 10 months sentence, while Taylor was given a sentence of seven years and six months for the joint enterprise killing. PC Doyle's widow Sarah later told the court: "My last words to him were: ‘I love you, stay safe and ring me when you want me to come and pick you up’. I’m still waiting for that call."

Donovan was released on licence in 2018 and was banned from large parts of the city, particularly the clubland district where the flashpoint erupted. Mrs Doyle, from Walton, was said to be "devastated" by both men's jail release, and has previously started a petition, calling on the Crown Prosecution Service to bring charges against all assaults on officers, amid claims those crimes are under-reported. She also asked for the jail sentences handed to Taylor and Donovan to be reviewed as she considered them "unduly lenient".

In June 2020 the National Crime Agency (NCA) carried out a search warrant at Wavertree Car Centre, seizing £300,000. During the raid NCA officers could be seen inspecting cars parked on the forecourt. Witnesses described officers carrying bags of items out of the centre into NCA vehicles.

The following year the NCA confirmed that they had charged a number of men in connection with their Operation Venetic probe - targeting users of the EncroChat network. One of those was Donovan - no longer of Huyton, but instead on the other side of the M62, of Walsingham Road in Childwall.

After he was released on licence, Donovan didn't keep his head down, but instead joined forces with five other offenders who variously dealt drugs and laundered the proceeds. Donovan, whose home was specifically reinforced, played a key role in the supply of class A drugs and co-ordinated the collection, storage and laundering of the OCG’s money – between £10m and £13m – in cash through third party business accounts.

A digital review of Donovan’s devices revealed images of a spreadsheet detailing money owed by and to him, as well as multiple messages indicating the scale of the cash collection, and his interest in the packaging of money. This included: "3,424,000 owed in eng"; "934000 all got it now to come off bill"; "200 + 9 for 4.5%", a reference to a delivery of £200,000, plus a commission of 4.5% (£9,000); and a note about a wodge of £50 notes, which were "zipped up and tied at the top".

NCA officers discovered EncroChat conversations and images revealing that Donovan had also played a significant role in the supply of class A drugs to the UK. In discussions with other organised criminals, he asked for "any news on far ones" (container ships transporting cocaine), and haggled over the price of "botts" and "tops" – references to kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine.

Donovan admitted conspiracy to supply 23.7 kilos of cocaine, one kilo of heroin and money laundering of between £10m and £13m. Four other men also admitted their roles in the OCG. On January 21, on the eve of his trial, the final OCG member Christopher Roper, 41 and of Allerton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Roper would often store criminal cash at the Wavertree Car Centre - where he worked. Roper was also on EncroChat as "sentientwolf" and would use the platform – which offenders believed was impenetrable - to arrange the transfers of cash, for which he sometimes received a 4.5% fee.

Accomplice James Vaughan, 38 of Green Lane in Old Swan, was previously on the NCA’s most wanted fugitives list. He was arrested as part of the investigation in 2020 and officers found more than £2,000 at his home along with two Rolex watches, a Bulgari watch and packaging for a cash counting machine.

But he fled to Spain where he was eventually traced and arrested and extradited last year. Evidence showed that Donovan would have cash delivered to Roper, who would arrange the payment of it into third party business accounts. Vaughan, who used the handle “lameregent”, was often enlisted to receive, count, package, and store cash, which was then transported to Roper by Kenneth Kean, 59, of Huyton House Road in Huyton, and Paul Duncan, 56, of Gentwood Road in Huyton.

Arron O’Sullivan, 41, of Deepfield Drive in Huyton, operated as “filthyburrito” and “amplebee” on EncroChat, and supplied drugs for the OCG. The NCA’s investigation was supported by Merseyside Police. All six will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on February 3.

Gary Cathcart, head of financial investigation at the NCA, said: "Donovan is a dangerous individual who returned to criminality as soon as he left prison. NCA officers painstakingly combed through EncroChat messages to identify him and his co-conspirators, proving the extent of their involvement in both money laundering and drug trafficking.

"These crimes ruin lives and destroy communities, and the NCA, alongside our partners here in the UK and abroad, will pursue every angle to ensure that those who commit them face justice."

It was announced in November last year that the family of PC Doyle would be one of the first recipients of a new award - the Elizabeth Emblem - which recognises police officers, firefighters and public servants who died in service.