Three men locked up for 16 years after £90k cash and Class A drugs seized in South Essex raids
Police net drugs and tens of thousands in cash after cunning Range Rover stop
Three men have been jailed for a combined 16 years after cops uncovered £90,000 in cash and Class A drugs worth around £100,000 during police raids across South Essex.
The drama kicked off on 23 May when officers stopped a grey Range Rover cruising along the A13 in Basildon. Inside, they found cocaine, roughly £50,000 in cash, and multiple phones – including a high-tech encrypted Encro-phone.
The driver, Thomas Dowman, 28, from Leigh-on-Sea, was snapped up on the spot.
Raids lead to more seized cash, drugs and arrests across Essex
Further searches led cops to an address on Southernhay. There, Scott Hearn, 31, of Basildon, turned up carrying nitrous oxide canisters and ketamine. Inside the property, officers found £1,100 in cash and evidence linking the men to cocaine supply.
A second search at a home on Oakley Park Drive uncovered £35,000 stashed in a shoebox alongside more cocaine.
Finally, at a property on Thorpedene Avenue, Hullbridge, cops swooped and caught third man David Misfud, 46, with over 660 grams of cocaine.
Altogether, the haul included £90,000 in cash and Class A drugs tipping the scales at an estimated £100,000 street value.
Basildon Crown Court hands down heavy sentences
All three men were charged and faced Basildon Crown Court on 22 July. Dowman pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.
Misfud and Hearn both admitted to possession with intent to supply.
On 31 July, Dowman was slammed with nine years inside, Misfud received six years, and Hearn was handed 20 months behind bars.
Operation Venetic cracks encrypted criminal phone network
This major bust was part of Operation Venetic, a crackdown on EncroChat, an encrypted messaging service used exclusively by criminals worldwide.
EncroChat boasted 60,000 users globally, with around 10,000 in the UK. It was used to coordinate crime, including drug distribution and money laundering.
Since 2016, law enforcement across countries have worked to infiltrate EncroChat. Earlier this year, French and Dutch agencies penetrated the service, sharing intelligence through Europol with British police.
This breakthrough helped bring these South Essex criminals to justice.
