A drug dealer who used the pseudonym "Eager Ape" had close links to Spain and was involved in the supply of nearly 300kg of cocaine and cannabis.
Peter Lynch "entered the big time" of the criminal underworld after losing his job in the construction industry due to ill health. The dad went on to trade in huge quantities and paid his underlings wages of thousands of pounds every month to carry out illicit activities on his behalf.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Monday, that the 43-year-old deployed encrypted communications platform EncroChat in order to conduct his shady dealings, using the handle EagerApe. But these were exposed when police gained access to the messaging service during 2020.
READ MORE: Woman, 28, shot dead in garden 'was not intended target'
Lynch - from New Brighton, Wirral - was found to have been "organising the supply of drugs in commercial quantities". He had the names of eight other devices stored in his phone, and had been in contact with five of them in arranging to deal 277kg of cannabis and two kilos of cocaine.
A user with the handle FirstBread would send him postcodes "on an almost daily basis" in order to make cash handovers. Meanwhile, Lynch "had people working for him" and paid wages of £2,000 per month to an assistant with the moniker MaroonBush.
The father-of-three had contacts in Spain, with images found on his Encro phone showing drugs being packaged in the country. Discussions also referenced "boats being ready for a dummy run" for the importation of drugs into the UK, while texts detailed debts nearing £200,000 owed to him.
Lynch, of St George's Mount, also sourced 2kg of cocaine from FirstBread which he supplied to the handle LimaGun - the latter being his friend Brian Connis. The defendant was described as being "worried about his welfare" as his pal owed money to suppliers, and brokered a deal for 2kg of cocaine in order to help him clear his debts.
In one message, he asked the upstream dealer "what price for lemo?". Connis sourced around 70kg of cannabis in total from Lynch.
Simon Parry, prosecuting, told the court: "Peter Lynch was engaged in the supply of cannabis at the highest level, with the ability to supply multiple kilos of that drug and to a lower degree was involved in the sale of class A drugs."
Jamil Khan, defending, told the court that his client worked in the construction industry but was forced to quit his job after being diagnosed with a degenerative condition five years ago, and turned to dealing drugs in order to pay his mortgage. He added that Lynch - who appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a shirt, tie and glasses - had helped other inmates with their mental health whilst in prison awaiting sentence and hopes to become a charity worker upon his release, while he has also "reconnected with his faith".
Mr Khan said: "Mr Lynch is not a career criminal. This is a man who has, for the most of his life, been working.
"He came into the construction industry and continued to work in the industry until 2017, when he had to leave because of the medical diagnosis he had which made it very difficult to continue working. The decisions he made in his life were wrong and grossly misjudged.
"He got himself into a financial mess, where the bank was prepared to foreclose on the mortgage and he owed a lot of money. This led him into drug dealing, through a friend.
"He began to gain the trust of those above him and moved up the ranks. They gave him more and more responsibility.
"He wasn't as profitable as he hoped he would be and got himself into debt with suppliers. He got himself into this vicious cycle until the network was brought down.
"He has never been to prison before, and this has been a very salutary situation for him. He has found it very difficult to cope with prison life.
"He realises he has let everybody down and has taken steps in prison to improve himself. He very much regrets the decisions he made.
"He knows he's done something seriously wrong, but he can rehabilitate himself and make himself a better person."
Lynch, who has four previous convictions for six offences, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis during an earlier hearing. Supported in court by his mum and wife, he was jailed for seven years and four months.
Sentencing, the Honourary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary QC said: "You were sourcing and offering for sale or involved in the distribution of large quantities of cannabis, and a smaller but significant quantity of cocaine. Bearing in mind the abject misery that is caused by their consumption, the tone of these conversations was remarkable mundane.
"You and your fellow EncroChat users thought that your activities would never come to light. As a consequence of your ill health, you lost your job in the construction industry and significant personal debts arose.
"Through a contact, you become involved in the supply of cannabis. Because you were undoubtedly good at it, you became more involved.
"You were supplied with an EncroChat device, which allowed you to enter the big time of cannabis dealing. You, it seems, had people working for you.
"You clearly have a talent for business. Sadly, you were applying that talent to trading in harmful and destructive drugs.
"Your personal circumstances are heartbreaking. This will be your first prison term, and I accept you genuinely regret what you became involved in."
Lynch could now be ordered to repay his ill-gotten gains under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Connis, of Thorncroft Drive in Barnston, was locked up for eight years and nine months in October last year at Chester Crown Court after the 50-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.
Twenty-seven-year-old Nicholas Hughes, who was employed as Lynch's driver, was jailed for five years in May for conspiracy to supply cannabis and converting criminal property. Detective Sergeant Jay Boardman said following today's sentencing: "Lynch is one of the latest in a long line of criminals that we’ve put behind bars as part of our ongoing investigation into drug supply in Merseyside.
"Lynch was supplying illegal drugs and generating vast profits in doing so. Hopefully he will now take time to reflect on the risks he took and the harm he caused, while serving his jail time.
"Our work to track these criminals down and bring down serious and organised criminal groups remain ongoing. To those who we haven’t got to yet, our message is clear - expect the knock at the door.
"Merseyside Police, along with law enforcement agencies across the world, will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of those people who think they are above the law and we will continue to target anyone involved in serious organised crime to keep this positive momentum going."
READ NEXT: Pets at Home paedophile and 'Jabba the Hutt' smuggler among crooks jailed this week
Heroin importer nicknamed himself after England striker he thought he looked like
Paedophile who had sex parties with children allowed to change his name
Wetherspoons cleaner filmed schoolgirl changing in the toilets
Dad caught with £40k of cannabis at Liverpool John Lennon Airport
