Mark Murphy, a 39-year-old resident of Canal View Court, Litherland, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by Liverpool Crown Court today, Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Murphy was found guilty of possessing cocaine with the intent to supply, conspiring to own a firearm, and conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, and cannabis using the encrypted messaging platform Encrochat.
The arrest of Murphy took place on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at his residence in Litherland as part of Merseyside Police’s response to Operation Venetic. This international investigation targeted criminals who utilised the mobile encryption service known as Encrochat to evade detection.
During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Murphy had been using the Encrochat handle “FIVE-FINGERS” between March 2020 and June 2020 to distribute Class A and B drugs. Additionally, two images of a firearm that Murphy was conspiring to possess were discovered in the Encrochat messages by the police.
