More details have emerged about the encounters between two alleged Greater Manchester gang bosses in Dubai.
18.05.2023 - 13:53 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A drugs boss involved in crime on a 'vast' scale was able to secure a government Covid loan. Lee Walsh, 34, has now been jailed for 14 years for his involvement in peddling heroin, amphetamine, ketamine and cannabis.
In secret messages recovered by police, he told of having access to drugs factories in Scanadanavia and Ireland, and of his plan to send cannabis to both locations. Within the encrypted Encrochat network, which was cracked by law enforcement, messages revealed that Walsh, from Tameside, was linked to at least four kilos of heroin, 700 kilos of amphetamine, 97 kilos of ketamine and 195 kilos of cannabis.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Walsh, who had previously been jailed in 2011 for being concerned in the supply of drugs, was able to secure £18,000 in Covid grants. In EncroChat messages using his handle 'Green Champ', Walsh told of having two businesses.
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"It transpired that Walsh received about £18,000 in grants during the period April 2020 and January 2021," prosecutor Julian Goode said. The loans were introduced to help firms struggling during the pandemic to stay afloat.
Mr Goode said the chats on the EncroChat network only gave an 'insight' into the conspiracies, which were 'well established' before the authorities were able to access the messages between March and June in 2020. Walsh was arrested in June 2020 under the Operation Venetic, the UK police's response to the EncroChat hack.
Analysis of the data revealed that Walsh had been in contact with at least 14 other users on the system. Speaking of the data, Judge Maurice Greene told him: "It involves you in the high end supply and production of multi kilo quantities
More details have emerged about the encounters between two alleged Greater Manchester gang bosses in Dubai.
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