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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Oliver Clay

EncroChat cocaine suspect named after arrest in the Netherlands

A Runcorn man is facing extradition from the Netherlands as part of a Class A drugs probe.

Cheshire Police said Andrew Phillips, 37, had been wanted by the force’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in connection with an investigation into conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Phillips was detained as he left a house in Haarlem on Wednesday evening, March 30.

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The arrest was part of Operation Venetic, the UK’s response to the takedown of the EncroChat encrypted communication platform.

A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said the SOCU worked with the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) international liaison officer network and Dutch authorities under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Phillips is due to appear at court in the Netherlands tomorrow and extradition proceedings are expected to begin.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Murray, from Cheshire Constabulary ’s SOCU, said: “We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the authorities in the Netherlands and the international liaison officer network from the NCA for their hard work and commitment to locate and arrest Phillips.”

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