More than £1.8m worth of cocaine was trafficked into Swansea in just five months by a criminal gang communicating over the secure EncroChat phone network.
It is estimated some 42kg of the Class A drug were transported to south Wales for onward supply to local dealers and users.
The operation was uncovered after Dutch and French law enforcement agencies were able to get access to the encrypted phone network, a network criminals had previously thought to be unbreakable.
Three of the major figures in the conspiracy have been jailed for 10 years each while a fourth man who ran his own furniture removals business and who was used as a courier has also been locked up.
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Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the conspiracy involved the supply of "wholesale quantities" of cocaine to south Wales.
The Swansea end of the operation was run by Nathan Webber, aged 28, and 36-year-old James Gallagher who each had their own customer base and "up-stream" suppliers but who would also help the other man out in securing the best deals.
The court heard that between March and July 2020 the pair sourced an estimated 42kg of cocaine from their England-based suppliers, a quantity of drugs worth up to £1.8m. One of the contacts was 52-year-old Peter Mitchell, who would drive consignments to Swansea from his home in Bradford.
The prosecutor said the operation came to light after law enforcement agencies got access to a wealth of messages on the previously secure EncroChat phone network. Analysis of the communications showed regular contact between Webber, Gallagher and Mitchell - along with contact with other users yet to be identified - as they discussed drugs purchases and prices per kilo, along with delivery details including to addresses in Clydach, Morriston, and Port Talbot. One of the messages referred to dealers in Colombia who had 100kg of coke "ready to go".
The court heard that some of the packages of cocaine shipped to Swansea were stamped with the "Avengers" superhero logo as a way of identifying them.
As the drugs flowed into Swansea during the conspiracy hundreds of thousands of pounds in payments went the other way.
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On a number of occasions a TM Removals and Logistics van was used to make runs from Liverpool to Swansea and back. This Iveco van was owned and driven by Liverpudlian Terrence Mills. The court heard that in EncroChat conversations - which 61-year-old Mills was not party to - there was talk about having furniture in the back of the van which would "look good" if anyone were to open the doors.
Mill's van was put under surveillance, and on June 8 he was arrested driving on the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road near Hirwaun as he headed back to Liverpool from Swansea. In the van was a black rucksack containing £152,500. Fingerprints on the bag were found to belong to Webber.
Then on July 7 Mitchell was arrested when his vehicle was stopped on the M4 motorway near Bridgend. The court heard that when Mitchell failed to arrive at his destination there were messages between Webber - who went by the name "Cheeky Panda" on EncroChat - and Gallagher where they discussed what would happen if he had been caught, with one reading: "He'll get one phone call. He knows the drill."
Webber and Gallagher were themselves arrested shortly afterwards, and in Webber's house officers found £25,000 in cash and £3,000 worth of silver bullion while a search of Gallagher's house uncovered a suitcase in the attic containing £100,000.
Nathan Webber, of Clydach Road, Ynysforgan, Swansea; James Lee Gallagher, of Carmarthen Road, Fforestfach, Swansea; Peter Mitchell, of Bradford but with fixed abode; and Terrence James Mills, of Wellington Street, Garston, Liverpool, had all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine when they appeared in the dock.
Barrister David Singh, for Webber, said the defendant was a hard-working man who had owned a cafe and a clothes shop, and who he regrets his involvement in the operation. He said his client had "no signs of acquired wealth".
Harry Baker, for Gallagher, said his client had been "taken advantage of" by others who had given him an EncroChat phone, and he said the father-of-two had not made a significant profit from his involvement.
Andrew Taylor, for Mitchell, said the defendant was from Ireland - where his wife and family still live - but he had been living in Bradford in Yorkshire at the time of the offending. He said while his client had used a EncroChat phone, his position in the conspiracy was "one of the ranks rather than a commissioned officer".
Simon Kitchen, for Mills, said his client had a range of health issues including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart problems, and post traumatic stress disorder as a result of his being "caught up in the events at Hillsborough". He said the defendant had cashed in some of his pension from Ford to buy a van and launch TM Removals and Logistics as a "man with a van" operation. The barrister said Mills was approached one day by a man offering work - namely making trips to Swansea - for which he would be paid £450. Mr Kitchen said it was the accepted basis of Mills' plea that he was unaware of the purpose of the trips to begin with, but by the fourth and fifth trips realised he was involved in transporting drugs or cash.
Judge Huw Rees told the defendants they had each played their parts in a "sophisticated and purposeful" conspiracy to supply an "insidious" drug for dissemination on the streets of Swansea, and that their motivation had been a simple one - greed.
With one-quarter discounts for their guilty pleas Webber, Gallagher, and Mitchell were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. With a 20 percent discount for his guilty plea Mills was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison. The defendants will serve up to half those periods in custody before being released on licence to serve the reminder in the community.
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