A major Kent drug dealer has been locked up after police cracked his encrypted phone messages. Gareth Harnett, 43, was running a lucrative cannabis and cocaine operation worth a staggering £92,000.
Encrypted Chats Blow His Cover
Harnett’s secret messages were exposed thanks to the takedown of EncroChat, a top-tier encrypted messaging app favoured by criminals to dodge the cops.
Photos, Postcodes & Pounds: The Evidence Piled High
Undercover chats revealed Harnett haggling over drug prices, sharing pics of kilos of cannabis, and planning cash handovers across the region.
- Cannabis sold for between £4,500 and £4,750 per kilo.
- He organised supply runs to his ‘workers’ who dealt locally.
- The operation ran from March to June 2020 but moved tens of thousands in drugs.
Captured in Newcastle, Jailed in Canterbury
Police caught Harnett in Newcastle in December 2024 after he had relocated there. On February 13, 2026, at Canterbury Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and cannabis.
He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars.
“It was clear from his encrypted messages that Gareth Harnett played an integral role in the supply of illegal drugs,” said Detective Constable Aaron Chapman.
“The compelling evidence left him no option but to admit guilt.”
