A "well educated young man" who used Encrochat to discuss the sale of thousands of pounds worth of class A drugs by using a codename has been jailed.
James Frazier was found to have sent and received thousands of messages on the service, often used as a secret communication system by criminals including organised crime gangs and drug dealers. His home in Grosvenor Road, Headingley, was raided by police during a search warrant in late June 2020.
Prosecutor Robert Galley told Leeds Crown Court on Monday officers found over 13,000g of ketamine in the flat, some of which was in packages. Four sets of digital scales which had traces of white powder on them, over £30,000 in cash, foreign bank notes, a bank cash machine and two iPhones were also found.
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Mr Galley said: "When the police located items there was a frying pan with the scales. An expert described that he believed it had been used for bashing drugs. There was a rolled up £20 in there."
The court heard that the expert also described criminals using foreign bank notes as "tokens" between them.
During his police interview, Frazier, 31, now of Easholt House in Wingate, only replied to questions regarding the cash, which he said he got from legitimate means.
Mr Galley said: "Financial enquiries revealed an income of just £5,000 a year. There was some reference to him being a gym trainer." Despite being on that income, the court heard his bank account had a turnover of £37,000 and he had made large deposits into it.
The court was told the French Law Enforcement agencies managed to get into Frazier's Encrochat messages which were sent between April and June 2020. Mr Galley said they were able to notify the National Crime Agency (NCA) about their findings - which included Frazier had been using a handle of a guitar and red wine as his codename.
It was found he had been discussing with a user named "Bean licker."
Mr Galley said: "The messages referred to the selling of drugs for cash and about buying ketamine and cocaine for cash. Essentially during the exchange he was saying he had half a kilogram of cocaine for sale and would charge £21,000. In another he said he he had another kilogram of cocaine and £38,000 a pack.
"It is right there were other messages exchanged to say he was unhappy with the cocaine and he was trying to get a refund."
In other messages, Frazier said the bank note machine had "changed his life" and discussed an arrangement with drug dealers from Bristol to sell 10kg of ketamine for a total of £70,000.
The court was told the two iPhones found were analysed and in March 2020, Frazier had sent a message to his own father telling him four men had "kicked his door in and had a shot gun and he had to deal with them." In another, he was found to message someone called "Wicker" in relation to the supply of drugs. Mr Galley said: "He discussed Encrochat problems and his belief it had been compromised."
Mr Galley said Frazier had previous convictions for offences including possession of class A and B drugs. In 2017, he was handed a community order for possession of a class A drug and driving while over the limit for drugs. The prosecutor said: "The prosecution submit he was buying and selling on at a commercial scale."
Mitigating, Daniel Harman, said a number of references and letters had been provided to the court, which also heard from the probation service. A probation officer said Frazier is now in a relationship and has been in employment and at the time he committed the offences - when he was 27 - he was depressed and had lost a close friend after they had taken their own life.
They said: "It got to the stage he no longer cared about anything. He was in a position where drugs had taken over and he got in far too deep and spiralled out of control and didn't know how to get out of it."
The court heard Frazier began using cannabis when he was 16, and started using ketamine at 18. Mr Harman said: "It is an unusual case with an unusual offender. He came to court today and said 'I've never been happier in a long time' and says it can bring closure to this episode." The barrister described Frazier as a "well-educated young man."
His Honour Judge Jameson KC said: "What I'm looking at is some pretty sophisticated messages of dealing drugs." He said although it was "an isolated course of offending" it was also "extremely serious" while it happened. The court heard Frazier had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply ketamine and cocaine and possession of criminal property. He was jailed for seven years and four months and told by the judge he must serve two thirds of that time in custody before being released on licence.
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