A heroin and cocaine dealer who used the pseudonym "Bald Bonsai" gave a judge the thumbs up after he was jailed for 15-and-a-half years
Jason Revill had only recently taken delivery of £125,000 of drugs when police came knocking at his door. He is now serving a massive sentence for trafficking illicit substances for a second time.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Thursday, that the 46-year-old used the handle BaldBonsai while trading on encrypted communications platform EncroChat. Alex Langhorn, prosecuting, said that the dad had been involved in the distribution of "multi kilo amounts" of heroin and cocaine while acting as a "commodity broker".
READ MORE: Man killed after being hit by HGV in Seaforth
Secret chats evidenced that Revill, of Stonegate Drive in Dingle, "appeared to be middle managament" and had discussed the supply of 14kg of cocaine and 1kg of heroin. Merseyside Police raided his home in June 2022 after he had "just recently taken delivery" of 10kg of heroin, a stash with which he was inevitably caught "red-handed" by officers.
The 10 1kg packages were between 49 and 61 per cent in purity when tested, although the "bulk" was between 56 and 61 per cent purity. The wholesale value of the class A drugs was estimated at around £125,000, although the potential street value was "far in excess of that sum".
A set of scales showing traces of cocaine and other drug paraphernalia was also seized. Revill had not declared any income to HM Revenue and Customs for the previous six years and gave no comment under interview.
He has 14 previous convictions for 32 offences, including receiving four months for possession of heroin in 1999. Then, in 2005, the former labourer, painter and decorator was imprisoned for 15 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.
Reports from the time described the then 29-year-old as "the man at the centre of a long running operation which flooded East Anglia with drugs". Revill was thought to have taken over the ring, which saw drugs transported from Liverpool to Norfolk on a "wholesale basis", from his late father Billy.
Tom Watson, defending, told the court that his client was "acting as a go between" in his latest plot and added: "He is not here to whinge, moan or complain. He understands what he has done.
"The reality is, this man is in danger of becoming somewhat institutionalized. He is acutely aware that he has badly let himself down.
"He has brought that upon himself. I can only ask the court to pass a sentence that provides him and his family with a realistic goal with which he can look towards and aim towards."
Revill admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin, possession of heroin with into to supply and possession of criminal property during an earlier hearing. Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey KC said: "The seriousness of the offences is aggravated by your highly relevant previous convictions.
"You were trading in desperation then, and you were doing so between 2020 and 2022. You thought you were invincible and protected by the phone in your hands - that has proved to be your downfall.
"You had used a specialist encrypted device to trade in drugs, believing you and it were safe and secure. You were acting as a commodity broker.
"Such was your immersion into drug trafficking and notwithstanding that the EncroChat network was compromised, it did not deter you from being in possession of no less than 10kg of heroin when you were arrested. You are described as a go between, but in my judgement you are best described as a broker in the supply chain and you were doing so on a commercial basis.
"It was a business, and it was your business. Your expectation was of substantial financial gain, bearing in mind the quantities involved."
Wearing a grey Berghaus fleece in the dock, Revill smiled and said "thank you very much your honour" as he gave a thumbs up to the judge upon learning his sentence of 15-and-a-half years behind bars before being led down to the cells. He could now be ordered to repay his ill-gotten gains under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and will be brought back before the same court later this year.
READ NEXT: Murder accused turns to teen and shouts 'he done it and he knows he did it' in court
Man in Concert Square video boasted he was wanted man on Facebook
Dad who fled Liverpool after being shot in mistaken identity jailed for drugs operation
Man admits he was 'out of order' after hitting Tesco security guard with machete
Man 'bullied and abused' woman who was helping him find a job
