Andrew Doran, 42, from Kirkby, has been jailed for 18 years for his role in a plot to smuggle 172kg of cocaine into the UK hidden in gas canisters. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said his EncroChat handle was "jurgensixnineteen" and that his contacts saved the handle under the nicknames "Bond" and "Dan Craig" due to his perceived resemblance to the actor Daniel Craig.
Gas canister smuggling operation
Between October 2019 and April 2020, 12 gas bottles were collected by vehicles from locations in Chatham, Kent, Corby, Northampton and Peterborough. Each bottle contained between 12 and 16 kilos of cocaine, totalling 172 kilos. The canisters had been cut open, welded shut and repainted.
Hidden compartments in the vehicles were used for the onward transportation of money and drugs. Doran liaised with international contacts, working closely with criminals in the Netherlands to facilitate the importations.
Role in the conspiracy
Doran worked closely with Kevin Taylor, 44, from Newcastle upon Tyne, whose EncroChat handle was "loyalmover". Taylor was jailed for 27 years in September 2025. Doran instructed Taylor to collect and move large sums of money from drugs sales in the north east, organising the cash's transfer south and abroad for further drugs importations using his numerous couriers and the token system.
This system used banknote serial numbers to show customers that money, generally moved in batches of £250k at a time, was for them and that the handovers were legitimate. In one message exchange, Doran confirmed to Taylor that they had had "over half a mil in the flat" in Spain that "needs to be back in UK", to which Taylor responded with a photo of what appeared to be a kilo of compressed cocaine.
Doran also arranged for the importation of 42 kilos of cocaine planned to be smuggled from the Netherlands between March and June 2020. This cocaine and the drugs imported in the gas canisters had a combined estimated street value of £18m.
How he was caught
The plot was uncovered as part of investigations under Operation Venetic, the NCA response to the EncroChat hack. NCA investigators established Doran was in Spain after he posted the route of a jog in Estepona on Strava under an alias. Some of his contacts saved "jurgensixnineteen" under the nicknames "Bond" and "Dan Craig", giving officers an idea of his appearance.
He was arrested by Spanish police in the south of the country following an NCA appeal. He was returned to the UK from Malaga in October last year by extradition officers.
Sentencing and NCA statement
Doran, whose last address was Fernhurst Road in Kirkby, admitted drugs importation charges at Newcastle Crown Court in December last year and was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment on Friday.
NCA branch commander Gavin Heckles said: "Andrew Doran had a central role in this plot, telling criminal associates at home and overseas how the drugs should be transported and distributed once in the UK. His extradition shows that criminals living in Spain are not beyond our reach, and we will never relent in securing justice."
He added: "Class A drugs like cocaine cause huge amounts of harm to communities across the UK, and create violence and exploitation at every level. We will continue to work with partners at home and abroad to pursue the criminal networks behind this trade and protect the public."
