Bradley O’Neill and Wayne Denton played key roles in the distribution of the class A drug and communicated with one another using a heavily-encrypted messaging service known as Encrochat.
An investigation into their criminal enterprise was carried out by Kent Police detectives when Encrochat was cracked by international law enforcement agencies in 2020.
Between March and June of that year, O’Neill, 29, of Halfway Road, Sheerness, had arranged for the delivery of a total of 25 kilogrammes of cocaine to other drug suppliers.
Known on Encrochat as ‘Call Me Curly’, O’Neill took instructions and passed orders on to other members of their criminal network but also unwittingly helped officers to establish his true identity. One of the ways he did this was by referring to incidents in which he had been detained by police, for example in April 2020 when he was stopped and searched by Metropolitan Police Service officers on the A2 near Bexleyheath after being linked to another reported offence.
At around the same time he messaged his accomplices to say he was ‘getting nicked’ and made reference to the A2 and a helicopter, believed to be the National Police Air Service helicopter that assisted in the stop.
O’Neill also provided information at other times that officers used to prove it was him, such as the names and birthdays of family members.
He pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine following his arrest in December 2021 and was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday 11 July 2024.
Denton, 37, of Palmer Way in Downham Market, Norfolk, was known on Encrochat as ‘Call Me Fisherman’ and appeared to be responsible for running a safehouse where the cocaine was kept.
He gave his identity away by sending a photo of his driving licence to O’Neill during one exchange of messages, and also referred to the names and birthdays of family members.
Denton was sentenced to four years and nine months’ imprisonment after also pleading guilty to conspiring to supply class A drugs.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Steve Brown said: ‘Cocaine is a dangerous substance that ruins people’s lives and there is no place for it on the streets of Kent. That is why we do not rest until the likes of Bradley O’Neill and Wayne Denton are behind bars where they can cause no further damage to society.
‘Like many other criminals who have also been sent to prison since the Encrochat messaging service was cracked, O’Neill and Denton thought they could communicate freely about the crimes they were committing. They now understand that there is no hiding place from the law.’
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