Seven Merseyside men jailed for over 90 years for supplying Cocaine

Seven men from Merseyside have been jailed for a combined 91 years for their involvement in a wide-scale plot to supply cocaine across the country.

The following men were all sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today (Thursday 26 September) for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property:

James Cook, 42 of Mereview Crescent, Croxteth was jailed for 14 years and four months

Paul Cook, 39, of Marford Road, Croxteth was jailed for 14 years and four months

Marco Riley, 47, of Sonning Avenue, Litherland was jailed for 13 years and six months

Matthew O’Keefe, 47, of Kings Road, Bootle was jailed for 12 years and five months

Daniel O’Keefe, 44, of Lavender Way, Walton was jailed for nine years and five months

John O’Keefe, 34, of Oxford Road, Bootle was jailed for seven years

John Porter, 44, of Altcar Lane, Lydiate was jailed for 20 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to commit Arson.

These are the latest men in Merseyside to be jailed as part of Operation Venetic – an international operation targeting criminals who used a mobile encryption service to try to evade detection.

Following a complex investigation, it was found that these men were all part of an organised crime group who were supplying multi-kilos of class A drugs between August 2018 and June 2020.

John Porter, who used the handle ‘HuntedElf’ played a leading role in the conspiracy, buying approximately 200kg of cocaine for onward distribution. Messages retrieved from officers included details of transactions including vehicle details and passwords to be exchanged between couriers. The couriers would contact Porter to confirm when the transaction was complete. In one exchange, he instructed Daniel O'Keefe, one of his couriers, to travel to the North East to collect £360,000 and they discussed secure ways of concealing and transporting the money to avoid detection. NWROCU detectives worked with officers from GMP who stopped his vehicle and seized the cash from a hide.

Porter conspired with others to set fire to a commercial gym, owned by somebody who owed him money. Detectives were able to prove Porter was using 'HuntedElf' by recovering messages where he discussed his wife's business.

James Cook (ScorpionBar) and Paul Cook (SappyFlicker) were senior trusted members of the crime group. They were involved in the day to day management of the movement of drugs and money, and kept records to monitor their ‘debtors’.

Matthew O’Keefe (SpicySalad), Daniel O’Keefe (StaleCake), and John O’Keefe acted largely as couriers for the conspiracy, travelling across the UK to drop drugs and collect cash.

Marco Riley (GrumpyRhino) would receive the cash and take it to serviced offices in Fazakerley where he would count, bundle, vacuum pack, and store the money ready for onward distribution.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Worthington from the NWROCU said:

“Following today's sentencing, seven members of an organised crime group that has been supplying drugs to communities across the country will spend a significant amount of time behind bars.

“These men went to significant lengths to cover up their offending and evade justice, using encrypted phones to run their criminal enterprise.

“This was a well-structured crime group with a clear hierarchy with Porter at the top making significant financial gains.

“From the outside, Porter looked to live a normal life, running his own building and construction company, but this was only a front, and he was involved in the highest levels of drug delivery across the country. His handle 'HuntedElf' was used to negotiate drug dealings with other criminals around the country and will be widely known to authorities across the UK.

“We will continue to work alongside our colleagues from across the region to tackle drug supply, using every tool at our disposal to dismantle organised crime groups and put them before the courts.

“If you suspect drug dealing is taking place in your community, call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If someone is in immediate danger or a crime is taking place you should always dial 999.” First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app.