A cocaine dealer caught red-handed making a delivery to Swansea was the former "lieutenant" of an Irish drug boss who fled to Spain following the killing of a crime reporter, according to police.
Peter "Fatso" Mitchell moved to the Costa del Sol after a police crackdown in the wake of the assassination of journalist Veronica Guerin in Dublin in 1996.
The 51-year-old was caught on the M4 near Bridgend in 2020 with three kilos of cocaine hidden in boxes of nappies after police were able to access encrypted messages sent by an organised crime group involved in a conspiracy to ship £1.8m of cocaine to south Wales.
Mitchell and his co-conspirators, Nathan Webber from Ynysforgan and James Gallagher from Fforestfach, were jailed for 10 years each at Swansea Crown Court on Friday. A former senior Irish police officer said the punishment handed down to Mitchell by the Welsh court was the first time he had received a heavy sentence as he has "really avoided incarceration most of his life".
Read more: See the latest cases from courts around Wales
The court heard that the members of the gang were identified after Dutch and French law enforcement agencies were able to crack the EncroChat phone system – a network of secure communications which was widely used by "crime syndicates" around the world. A wealth of messages from criminals were downloaded before the breach was discovered and the information was passed to police across Europe including in the UK.
The National Crime Agency and South Wales Police were able to use the intelligence gathered from EncroChat to identify three people involved in a major conspiracy to ship large quantities of cocaine into Swansea – Mitchell, who went by the EncroChat user name "Gorilla Hawk", Webber or "Cheeky Panda", and Gallagher or "Diver Hawk". Others involved in the operation have yet to be identified. Over the space of just five months the gang trafficked an estimated 42kg of cocaine into Swansea.
Mitchell was arrested on July 7, 2020, as he drove from Bradford to Swansea. When officers intercepted his car on the M4 near Bridged they found 3kg cocaine worth more than £133,000 hidden among boxes of nappies on the back seat.
Check what crimes have been reported in your area:
Swansea Crown Court heard that when Mitchell failed to arrive at the designated drop-off point Webber and Gallagher began to chat over EncroChat about the possibility he had been arrested en route with one message reading: "He'll get one phone call. He knows the drill." Later that day, when news of Mitchell's arrest was confirmed, Gallagher sent a message saying: "He got lifted near Cardiff."
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.
South Wales Police describe Mitchell as a "former lieutenant" of jailed Irish drug baron John Gilligan who fled Ireland in 1996 amid the "unprecedented" police crackdown following the assassination of Veronica Guerin. Speaking after the sentencing detective inspector Russ Jenkins said: "‘Organised crime groups over a number of years have utilised encrypted devices to enable their offending. They have been brazen and believed the use of such devices ensured they were beyond the reach of the law.
"Our investigators have worked tirelessly, and continue to utilise all opportunities available, to investigate these offences and successfully prosecute those involved. The organised crime groups have a significant impact upon our communities and the continued success of these operations provides reassurance and confidence to the communities of South Wales."
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror Pat Leahy, former assistant commissioner with the Garda or Irish police, said Mitchell is "long gone from the memory of much of the public" but "not gone from the minds of those who deal in crime", adding: "This is the first time he has been handed a very heavy sentence – he has really avoided incarceration most of his life."
To get the latest news from WalesOnline sent to your email inbox click here
