A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation dismantled the organised crime group which was based in Merseyside and run by kingpin Terence Earle, 49, from St Helens.
Earle used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to organise his criminality and enlisted the help of subordinates Stanley Feerick, 68, and Stephen Singleton, 36, from Liverpool, and Stephen King, 49, from Dumbarton, Scotland.