Three jailed for Suffolk drug operation using encrypted messages
All three were found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs
Three men from Suffolk have been convicted and jailed in connection with drug offences where encrypted messaging devices were being used to facilitate a criminal operation.
30 year old Roan Omoworarare of Bloomfield Street in Ipswich, 33 year old Dale Ramsey of Felixstowe Road in Ipswich and 27 year old Marley Bagley of Beadon Way in Woodbridge were all found guilty at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday 31 July after a trial lasting about three weeks.
The case concerned the large-scale supply and distribution of multi kilogram amounts of cocaine and cannabis using a secretive communications network called ‘Encrochat’.
In 2020 law enforcement agencies in Europe gained access to this secure communications service.
Omowoarare was evidentially attributed to the EncroChat handle ‘mowgli-thirtysix’, while Bagley has been evidentially attributed to ‘artful todger’.
All three were found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A from 10 July 2019 to 16 September 2020.
Omoworarare, Ramsey and Bagley were also found guilty of conspiracy to supply class B drugs from 10 July 2019 to 16 September 2020.
The trio were sentenced yesterday (Tues 1 August).
Omoworarare was given a 15 year sentence for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and 7 year sentence for conspiracy to supply class B drugs to run concurrently.
Ramsey was given a seven and half year sentence for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and two year sentence for conspiracy to supply class B drugs to run concurrently.
Bagley was given a 10 year sentence for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and four year sentence for conspiracy to supply class B drugs to run concurrently.
The trial follows the execution of warrants conducted in seven separate locations on Wednesday 16 September 2020. These were five address in Ipswich and one in Ingatestone and one in Melton.
Among the items recovered at an address on Felixstowe Road in Ipswich were multiple bags of cash totalling £65,415, various mobile phone devices and an Audi A3 vehicle.
At the address in Ingatestone, multiple high value trainers with an estimated worth of over £10,000 were seized, as were three high value watches estimated to be worth £100,000 and a Range Rover Vogue vehicle.
At the address in Beadon Way in Melton a designer watch worth £20,000 was recovered along with quantities of herbal cannabis worth approximately £6,000 and a Mercedes E220 vehicle.
Officers say the suspects were all local to Ipswich and were close associates with each other.
In 2018 Omoworare and Bagley became business associates of a recruitment company, with Omoworare the owner of three other companies that were all used to launder the proceeds of drug dealing.
Encrochat messages between Omoworare and Bagley demonstrated evidence of their supply of drugs to Ipswich and surrounding areas.
DC Chris Townrow said: “Criminals using Encrochat saw encrypted mobile devices being used to hide behind codenames to co-ordinate and plan the supply and distribution of drugs, money laundering and other criminal activity. Thousands of users are known to have used this technology worldwide, including here in the UK.
“All three defendants were involved in this case were involved in the large-scale supply and distribution of cocaine and cannabis with Omoworare linked to a number of organised criminals. This included an organised crime group from the Nottingham area where he was involved in supplying 1 kilogram of cocaine to members of this Nottingham OCG.
“This was a highly complex investigation and the high quality work conducted demonstrates our on-going determination to rid Suffolk of such drug dealing and associated criminality.”