A wholesale drugs trafficker from Whiston was snatched by Spanish police in Madrid as he tried to board a flight to Dubai.
Stuart Farrell was one of hundreds of organised criminals exposed by the EncroChat encrypted phone network hack in 2020. An investigation revealed he was the man behind the handle 'OutoOut', which had been used to trade "multi-kilos" of cocaine between March 20, 2020, and May 4, 2020.
The 54-year-old fled the country in a bid to avoid arrest, but his luck ran out on October 2, 2021, as he tried to fly to the United Arab Emirates. He was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and locked up at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to 17 years in prison.