Cops traced machine gun photo back to drugs boss

DAD UNCOVERED AFTER TAKING SNAP OF £10K WEAPON IN HIS KITCHEN

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

A DRUGS boss was brought down after cops uncovered a picture of a terrifying machine gun on his kitchen worktop.

Dad-of-two Gary Fenton took the image of a Skorpion machine gun after buying it for £10,000, and sent it on to a pal.

The professional' drug dealer purchased the deadly weapon from fellow criminal Jamaine Salmon.

Detectives discovered the image following the law enforcement hack of the highly-encrypted EncroChat network, and were able to match it to the fixtures and fittings within Fenton's home.

He and Salmon have now been handed lengthy jail sentences. Salmon, 32, was locked up for 22 years; and Fenton, 45, for 17 years. According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), Salmon 'broke down and cried' when faced with the evidence against him.

Before being sent down, the pair were inspired by 'greed and selfishness, and had prioritised their own 'enrichment. Manchester Crown Court heard that the pair were 'senior figures' in the 'commercial trafficking' of class A drugs, sourcing and brokering multikilo deals.

A third man, 45-year-old Karl Francomb, who was jailed for eight years, couriered drugs and cash on their behalf, and was paid a wage rather than receiving a cut of the profits.