28 July 2023 , 11:40
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A drug dealer who called himself "monstermunchman" online has been jailed after police found his bizarre username on a secret network.
Jamie Joseph Veale, 32, of Widnes, used the communications network EncroChat to supply a huge amount of Class A drugs. Police said he used his large-scale conspiracy to treat himself to an extravagant lifestyle which included luxury items and "expensive trips abroad."
He was busted after Cheshire Police joined forces with the National Crime Agency, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and the Crown Prosecution Service after they shut down EncroChat in 2020. The team identified Veale and discovered he had used the encrypted network to negotiate prices for kilo amounts of class A drugs between May 19 and June 13 of that year.
They found that Veale was responsible for the supply of at least 17kg of cocaine, reports Liverpool Echo. On Monday, June 29 2020, Cheshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit executed a warrant at Veale’s address and discovered multiple mobile devices, cash, a large amount of designer jewellery and clothing, and drug-related paraphernalia.
Even though Veale had no visible signs of income, he also talked of staying in luxury villas overseas for months at a time, owned a jet ski and went on extravagant holidays.
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Veale was arrested and charged with drug supply offences. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs at Liverpool Crown Court and was jailed for 18 years.
Detective Sergeant Christian Gordon said: “Despite having no job, Veale reaped the benefits of his criminal activity, owning luxury items and going on expensive trips abroad. He was responsible for the supply of a substantial amount of cocaine and ran his conspiracy through a platform he believed would keep him under the radar.
“But after EncroChat was infiltrated, officers were able to comb through messages attributed to Veale under a codename and collect a catalogue of evidence against him. Thanks to this hard work, he is now facing a lengthy spell behind bars.
“Although this case is now closed, our fight continues against those intent on bringing illegal drugs into our communities. If you have any information in relation to drugs offences, please contact us via cheshire.police.uk/tell-us or call 101.”
EncroChat was a global encrypted phone network used extensively by criminals since 2016. Encro phones, which were used by individuals involved in organised crime, offered a range of features designed to keep messages secret from police even when the handsets were seized during raids.
Customers could easily wipe their phones and only a complex series of passwords allowed entry to the actual encrypted phone where sensitive messages were stored. It has since been shut down, but authorities continue to convict those who used the service for their illicit trading.