Kingpin Stephen Hunt Jailed Over Massive Heroin Plot
Stephen Hunt, 60, was a key player in a ruthless gang planning to flood the UK with over 90 kilos of Class A drugs every week. The crime boss used a front company to rent office space under the guise of dealing in household linens, all while coordinating huge heroin shipments delivered via fast parcels.
Encrypted Chats Crack Operation Venetic
Hunt, who operated under the EncroChat handle “Nobleblood,” was caught after authorities took down the encrypted platform last year. The National Crime Agency (NCA), leading the crackdown with Operation Venetic, uncovered his Huntingdon base where heroin parcels were received. CCTV captured Hunt arriving in his flashy white convertible Mercedes AMG, showing he lived the high life while orchestrating the drug empire.
Messages revealed Hunt’s gang planned to forward massive loads of heroin to Liverpool, with sales spreading up the North Wales coast. The heroin was smuggled in from Spain and the Netherlands. The gang was moving at least 24 kilos weekly but aimed to triple that.
Gang Members Locked Up for Years
- Stephen Hunt – jailed for 10 years and 9 months at Caernarfon Crown Court after admitting conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
- Dylan Sanger, 34, from Ellesmere Port, aka “Syruproad” and “Swankyboar” on EncroChat – secured drop locations and handled cash payments. Arrested with nearly £10,000 in cash, he got nine years behind bars.
- Tyrone Holbrook-Harris, 27, from Buckley, Flintshire – took orders from Sanger, sentenced to six years.
- Darren Barrett, 41, from Northop Hall, Mold – worked under Holbrook-Harris, sentenced to five years and three months.
Seizures and Sting Operations
On May 5 last year, officers from the National Crime Agency and North Wales Police watched Holbrook-Harris receive a courier-delivered parcel containing 9.45 kilos of high-purity heroin worth £475,000. The seizure was just one of six drug deliveries made by the gang between January and May 2020, with a total street value of £900,000.
Piers Phillips, NCA operations manager, said: “These men were central to the violence and exploitation that UK crime groups deal in when it comes to supplying heroin through County Lines.”
“Class A drugs cause misery and bring chaos to our communities. We’re pleased to have taken this OCG out of action and we’ll continue to do our utmost to protect the public from this threat.”
This multi-million-pound heroin ring is finally off the streets, thanks to a high-tech police crackdown and relentless pursuit of justice.
