Zak Archbold, 30, a UPS supervisor known as 'King' on the encrypted EncroChat network, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in smuggling £10 million worth of cocaine into the United Kingdom. The operation, which involved 290 kilograms of cocaine, was uncovered as part of Operation Venetic, a major crackdown on encrypted criminal communications.
Inside Man at UPS Depot
Archbold worked at the UPS depot in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, where he used his supervisory role to ensure that drug shipments from the Netherlands went undetected and were routed to the correct truck for collection by gang members. The court heard that the gang paid approximately £2,000 per kilogram of cocaine shipped through the depot, with the drugs arriving over a five-week period in April and May 2020.
Archbold received £750 for each kilogram successfully imported. He was directed by an EncroChat user known as 'Ghost', who messages showed was 'running the show' at the depot. The packages were all addressed to the same property in Upminster, Essex, for redistribution across the UK.
Co-Defendant Sentenced
Co-defendant Steven Bullen, 51, was sentenced to 16 years and four months in prison. Bullen admitted to conspiracies to supply 790 kilograms of cocaine, 242 kilograms of MDMA, and 114 kilograms of amphetamine, directing operations from his villa in Marbella, Spain. Judge Nathaniel Rudolf KC described Bullen as having a leading role in the drugs gang, which used secret compartments in cars and drivers known as the 'B52 bomber' to transport illicit parcels.
Judge Rudolf stated: 'Taking part in the way you both did in high-level criminality involving this amount of drugs is a pathway of risk and reward. The reward is financial, and the risk is prosecution and conviction. You both chose to walk that pathway and must face the consequences.'
Operation Venetic and EncroChat
The illegal drug supply operations were cracked when law enforcement agencies gained access to the EncroChat messaging system in 2020, which was used by criminal gangs worldwide. The gang used aliases like 'Veggie Kray', 'Ghost', and 'Cuddly Bandit', while Archbold was referred to as 'King'. They conducted 'dry run' packages to test the UPS route before sending cocaine shipments.
Gemma Vincent from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'Zak Archbold abused his position while working for a reputable courier company and facilitated the importation of cocaine from Europe into the UK. Their convictions would not have been possible without the combined efforts of prosecutors in the UK, Spain and France, Spanish law enforcement teams, and the NCA. Going forward, we will seek to confiscate their ill-gotten gains and we hope these sentences serve as a deterrent to other would-be criminals.'
Ongoing Investigation
The court heard that three other men accused of involvement—Benjamin Thake, Craig Merrin, and Jurre Faber—remain at large. Judge Rudolf accepted that Archbold had been 'naive' when he agreed to join the scheme and imposed a serious crime prevention order on Bullen. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine, with Bullen also admitting to conspiracy to supply cocaine, MDMA, and amphetamine.
