How a ham sandwich helped take down a Blackpool drugs gang

A Blackpool based drugs gang have been bought down – thanks to a ham sandwich.

Richard Wylie and Richard Whiteside were caught as part of Operation Venetic - the ongoing national fight against organised crime following the takedown of a bespoke encrypted global communication service used exclusively by criminals.

EncroChat was one of the largest providers of encrypted communications and offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service, but an international law enforcement team cracked the company’s encryption.

The Encrochat servers were taken down in 2020 following an investigation led by the National Crime Agency and Lancashire Constabulary, along with the rest of UK law enforcement, continues to target those involved.

After an investigation by our Serious and Organised Crime Team police were able to prove that Wylie and Whiteside were the owners of Encrochat handles Somesnail and Peppershirt.

Pictures of a can of Stella Artois and a ham sandwich shared on the Encrochat phones helped trap the pair after they were matched to Whiteside’s address in Blackpool.

Richard Wylie (9/9/86), formerly of The Stables, Thornton Cleveleys was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A cocaine, Conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A cocaine, Conspiracy to transfer and conceal criminal property and being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of Class A to others.

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