A heroin dealer sent a photograph of his son wearing the colours of a Colombian football team from an EncroChat phone.
On Monday Liverpool Crown Court heard how Martin Grant and his brother Liam used the EncroChat phone network to supply drugs. The court heard how Martin Grant was a significant player in Class A drugs while his younger brother Liam was a 'cannabis wholesaler.'
Ben Jones, prosecuting, told the court that Martin Grant sent a photograph of his son on the EncroChat network. The photograph showed the boy wearing the colours of Cali, a Colombian football team.
READ MORE: Brothers known as 'Skin' and 'Lil Skin' used EncroChat to sell coke and cannabis
Martin Grant, who used the Encro handle SwiftOrchid, also made reference to his mum's birthday on the phone. Police also found photographs of his back garden and fields near to his home. Mr Jones said that the messages helped police link Grant to the phone, in a process known as attribution.
Mr Jones said that Grant was linked to his work address through call data and through ANPR evidence, which records number plates on the road network. Martin Grant, 33, is a former managing director of Liverpool-based health and safety company Safety Support Consultants Limited (SSC).
There is no suggestion that his crimes were in any way linked to his role at SSC. Grant, originally from the Old Swan area, joined the company in September 2019 after he was released from prison on licence. He resigned in January 2020.
The court heard that Martin Grant became involved in drugs around a week after he was released from prison in September 2019. The EncroChat based conspiracy lasted until June 1 2020. Police linked him to 26 kg of cocaine, 21 kg of heroin and 300 kg of amphetamine.
Mr Jones said that Martin Grant was on licence when he was supplying drugs. He had been released during a 10 year sentence for S18 wounding.
Martin Grant crept up behind a man and slashed him across the face, leaving him with 30 stiches. In 2015 Liverpool Crown Court heard the attack on August 8, 2014 may have been linked to an incident in a pub when Grant's cousin was assaulted.
The victim told the court the background to the attack was a fight in a pub a few years before, which had involved Grant’s cousin and a friend.
Liam Grant, of Holland Street in Fairfield, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cannabis. His pleas related to a period time from September 5 2020 and September 30 2021. On Monday Judge Denis Watson jailed Liam Grant of Holland Street in Fairfield to four years and six months in prison.
Martin Grant has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply heroin, conspiracy to supply amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cannabis. He will be sentenced next week.
