Two cousins who used the EncroChat messaging service to run a heroin and cocaine trafficking operation between Merseyside and Motherwell have been jailed.
Stephen Earle, who used the handle 'Octo-hand', and his cousin Terence Earle, known as 'ThickBoar', trafficked at least 10 kilos of heroin and seven kilos of cocaine. They used EncroChat to discuss prices for buying and selling the drugs, as well as the logistics of trafficking.
How the operation was uncovered
The operation was exposed after French authorities cracked the highly encrypted EncroChat service in 2020. The pair's dealings were revealed as part of Operation Venetic, the UK NCA-led law enforcement response to the takedown of the service in July 2020.
Terence Earle was jailed for 16-and-a-half years in April 2023. Stephen Earle was arrested by local police in Faro in January 2024 after a tip off by the National Crime Agency.
Arrest and sentencing
Stephen Earle had fled the country in July 2020 and remained abroad to avoid capture after NCA officers apprehended other gang members in March 2021. The then 52-year-old was returned to the UK on March 18.
Stephen pleaded guilty to four drugs supply charges at Liverpool Crown Court in April 2024 and was later sentenced to 11 years and four months in jail. Both were sentenced for their part in the class A operation and the creation of an amphetamine lab in Scotland.
NCA warning to criminals abroad
Speaking at the time of Stephen's conviction, NCA Branch Commander Charles Lee said: “Today’s guilty plea shows that there is no hiding place for criminals who seek to avoid arrest by living abroad. The NCA has the international reach to find you and make you pay for your crimes.
“Stephen Earle was an integral part of this dangerous criminal organisation, which posed a serious threat to communities across Scotland and Merseyside. The drugs they trafficked would have fuelled violence and exploitation in these areas, so bringing this criminal group to justice has helped protect the public.”
