Six further people have been sentenced - with five of those jailed to a total of more than 60 years imprisonment - for their involvement in a number of conspiracies to supply industrial amounts of class A drugs across the UK.
The sentencings follow an extensive investigation by EMSOU which began in April 2020 after the encrypted chat platform ‘Encrochat’ was dismantled as part of a huge international law enforcement operation.
A total of 39 other individuals have been sentenced over the past 15 months for their involvement in the same or closely linked matters with 37 of those individuals sentenced to a total of more than 360 years imprisonment.
Detective Sergeant Chris Sewell, from EMSOU, said: “This huge investigation has now seen a total of 45 individuals sentenced. The offending identified stretched across the UK and international boundaries, but data recovered from the Encrochat platform was used by officers to mount a successful prosecution highlighting the vast scale of the offending.
“Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this investigation and who has helped to bring this before the courts.
“We continue to act on information received in relation to drug offending and urge anyone with any information to report it to us so that we can take the action needed.
“You can report online or by calling 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.
“If you are affected by drugs misuse and want support to make change, you can also contact Turning Point who offer a variety of treatment options and will support you. More information is available at https://www.turning-point.co.uk/ or by calling 0330 3036000.”