Fugitive Francis McAnulty, 27, fled the country as police were about to pounce on him in his native Salford, when he had around £35,000 in cash and tens of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine stashed in his van.
He narrowly managed to avoid the law following a car chase and headed for the European mainland in a bid to evade the consequences of his crimes. But after being caught in the Dutch capital, McAnulty was flown back to the UK and has finally faced justice, after being handed a 12-year jail term.
Manchester Crown Court heard how McAnulty was the latest dealer to fall foul of the law enforcement hack of EncroChat, a highly-encrypted network often dubbed 'WhatsApp for criminals!
He hid behind an apparent cloak of anonymity using the handles 'Noisy Bear, 'Eastern Killer' and 'Shapely Toast' on the communications platform.
This story is from the April 28, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the April 28, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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