Two ‘Cocaine Wholesalers’ Busted After Police Crack Encrypted Chat
Two drug dealers thought they were untouchable, using the encrypted messaging service EncroChat to move up to £700,000 worth of top-grade cocaine in just weeks. But Kieran Melody, 29, and Josh Boore, 24, were caught red-handed after police cracked their secret chats.
Encrypted Chats Unravel Multi-Kilo Drug Operation
The pair boasted about huge shipments, supply networks across the West Midlands and beyond, and plans to launder cash through businesses and property. They believed EncroChat’s private chats kept them safe from the law. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
European law enforcement hacked into EncroChat, scooping thousands of drug dealers’ messages. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) then passed vital evidence to the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU).
Detective Constable Alex Gascoyne revealed,
“We accessed all their messages from March 2020, detailing deals, profits, and distribution. On 27 March, they discussed buying 60kg of coke at £38,000 per kilo, aiming to profit £1,000 per kilo.”
Chats showed them busy supplying new customers, discussing a Cardiff deal, and even telling each other to wear gloves and hide the cocaine in secret compartments.
Arrests, Cash Finds & Rolex Watch: Luxury Life of Drug Dealers
The duo were first arrested in October 2020 after Boore picked up 4kg of cocaine in London. While on bail, police got the EncroChat data and swooped again in February this year.
Officers found a Rolex watch under Melody’s pillow and £6,515 in cash at his home in Solihull. Melody admitted to being ‘vanillapark’ on EncroChat and supplying drugs but denied money laundering, claiming his property cash came from landscaping work and inheritance.
Boore, from Acocks Green, stayed quiet about the chats but later confessed to his role in the cocaine supply chain.
Heavy Jail Terms for West Midlands’ High-Level Cocaine Chiefs
At Birmingham Crown Court on 12 May, Melody was slammed with 10 years and 8 months behind bars. Boore got 6 years and 8 months. Both pleaded guilty to drug supply between 26 March and 4 May 2020.
Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Baker from West Midlands ROCU said,
“Operation Venetic has smashed organised crime, pulling dangerous drugs and guns off the streets and potentially saving lives. Our officers worked tirelessly through the pandemic to target those at the top of the drug trade. More arrests and prosecutions will follow as we continue investigations.”
