Detectives worked out the identity of a multi-kilo cocaine trafficker using the EncroChat handle 'Ladbrookes' when a contact gave away his name in a message.
Kurtis Bolton was involved in the supply of more than 23kg of the Class A drug between March 27 and June 5, 2020, but police noted the device had been used as far back as October, 2019. Liverpool Crown Court heard detectives poring over the messages recovered when the EncroChat service was hacked in early 2020 got a break when personal information was shared by Bolton and his associates.
The 26-year-old, of Hoblyn Road, Bidston, appeared to be working for a user with the EncroChat handle 'PoundCake', and had been involved in collecting and transporting around £305,000 in dirty cash as part of the conspiracy.
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Nicola Daley, prosecuting, told the court the first clue to his identity came after he arranged for another crook, using the handle 'TastefulScooter', to come and collect some cash. Ms Daley said: "Tastefulscooter’ later indicated to another handle, 'PoundCake' that he had sorted ‘da dow’, i.e the money, with 'Kurt'.
"In another conversation, ‘Ladbrookes’ spoke about having to climb over the back into ‘Hoblyn’ and then ‘over the backs into to the allots’. At that time, the defendant lived in Collin Road in Bidston, which backed onto Hoblyn Road, which, in turn, backs onto some allotments."
Other, more concerning messages revealed a potentially violent and ruthless side to the organised crime group. Ms Daley said: "There is also reference to the defendant having access to weapons, such as knives and how he uses others to store his drugs, so that he doesn’t have to risk storing them at his house."
The court heard on one occasion, on April 25, 2020, messages showed Bolton was being trusted to hold onto £140,000 in cash.
Ms Daley said: "The Prosecution’s case is that the messages show that the Defendant was involved in receiving, transporting and distributing vast commercial scale quantities of cocaine. He was working under the direction of ‘poundcake’. The Scale of Criminality shows that during the capture period, he was involved in agreeing to supply 23.5kg of cocaine and in the movement of £305,000 in cash relating to the supply of drugs."
The court heard Bolton was not arrested until April 19, 2021, when two motorbikes were spotted by a Merseyside Police patrol officer riding "in tandem" on Slatey Road, Birkenhead. When the officers activated their lights, the bikes made off at speed through a residential area, the court heard.
Bolton, who was the pillion passenger, was arrested when the bikes were forced to stop because a recovery vehicle was blocking the road. The 26-year-old told the arresting officers he had a knife in the waistband of his trousers, and a dagger in a sheath was seized.
He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to transfer criminal property (cash), being carried on a stolen vehicle being driven dangerously and possession of a bladed article in public.
Despite the seriousness of his crimes, the court heard Bolton had no previous convictions other than a caution for possessing cannabis some years earlier.
Jo Maxwell, defending, said her client had a two-year-old son with his long-term partner and had made a "catastrophic mistake". She said: "He wants to know his earliest date of release so he can put his life back together, for his family and his partner, who he is in a settled relationship with."
She submitted several character references to the court, including from an uncle who had employed Bolton before and promised a job was waiting for him on his release. Ms Maxwell also said Bolton had suffered mental health issues for some time, and said medical evidence submitted to the court showed he had been medicated for anxiety, depression and ADHD.
Recorder Ian Harris, passing sentence, said he did not accept that Bolton's medical issues impacted his culpability for his offending. Judge Harris told the young dad: "Class A drug-dealing brings misery to individuals and communities. You, I find, voluntarily entered this dangerous world and facilitated whole-sale drug dealing.
"Not only are the drugs themselves highly addictive, but they fuel acquisitive crime and can often lead to extreme violence."
Bolton was jailed for nine years and eight months. He will serve half of that time behind bars before being released on licence.
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