A drug dealer who used the Encrochat handle ‘EducatedGoose’ hid 12 kilograms of heroin in a bedroom.
Philip Read was also trusted to handle large amounts of cash and use it to purchase ketamine and heroin from other dealers on the encrypted messaging service. The 43-year-old fell into criminality after running up gambling debts but joined dozens of other former Encro users in being jailed after a massive operation that saw the service hacked two years ago.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the dad, from Eccleston, turned to drug dealing after his massive debts left him scrambling to find money to pay his bills. Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, said records recovered by police showed Read used Encrochat, an encrypted messaging system, to track cash and drugs for deals in Merseyside during the first five months of 2020.
