'GingerSpeaker' ferried 155kg of cocaine for gang

A ‘RELIABLE foot soldier’ was caught hauling more than 155 kilos of cocaine worth more than £14m – working under the Encrochat handle ‘GingerSpeaker’

- By AMY WALKER

Courier Matthew Clarke, 43, is the latest criminal to be hauled before Manchester’s courts following the law enforcement hack of the encrypted communications network.

He was ordered to pick up large amounts of the class A drug on behalf of an organised crime group based in Ashton-under-Lyne. Over a three-month period, Clarke supplied 155kg of cocaine and transferred £100,000 of criminal cash.

Messages to people higher up the chain were discovered when European law enforcement officials cracked the EncroChat network and handed the data to UK cops.

Cops said the amount of drugs police uncovered during the investigation into Clarke had an estimated street value of over £14m.

Manchester Crown Court heard Clarke was linked to at least 10 drugs pick-ups and drop-offs between March and June 2020 across the north.

Acting under instruction from mystery dealer ‘MagicCheetah’, on March 26, he was told to collect 30kg of cocaine. The message read: “Grab 30 of em and pass my mate 12 around the corner u bring back 18 OK.”