Drugs kingpin got 'tired' of life of crime, court hears

Sunday World

20 hours ago

Jamie Rothwell has vowed to turn his life around after living in "isolation, loneliness and fear"
Rothwell had now turned away from a life of crime
Rothwell had boasted about his life of crime
The head of a British organised crime gang who ordered rivals to be shot on the streets of the UK from his Barcelona bolthole has given up living a life of crime, a court has heard.
Jamie Rothwell who organised shootings and traded assault rifles from his flat in Spain has pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to a string of drugs and firearms offences.
Rothwell, who was found by police "hiding out" at the apartment had vowed to turn his life around after living in "isolation, loneliness and fear", his barrister, Chris Henley, KC, said.
The 38-year-old Rothwell, from Salford in Greater Manchester, is due to be sentenced on Thursday along with nine other men.
He was arrested after being identified as the man behind the "livelong" handle on EncroChat phone network that was hacked into by French police in 2020.
Jamie Rothwell
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Thousands of organised criminals, who were oblivious to the fact they had been compromised, carried on sending messages that were intercepted and shared with British police forces.
The messages exposed Rothwell's "command over a sprawling criminal enterprise and his involvement in the trafficking of high-powered weapons, including AK-47 rifles',
Greater Manchester Police said.
Prosecutor Jaime Hamilton, KC, told how some of the messages revealed the violence 'that is the hallmark and by-product of his business".
In one chilling message Rothwell said: "When you have fire in your heart you don't stop... you get addicted, you lose everyone, you turn cold, no emotions."
In another, Rothwell bragged of how he was "sending constant" consignments of Class A and B drugs and weapons including 'an RPG, M16, AKs, and Glocks'.
Mr Hamilton said Rothwell also discussed how he had fallen out with other criminals and engaged in a "six-month war" with one.
Rothwell had boasted about his life of crime
The court heard how Cheshire man Liam Byrne was told by police that his life was under threat in April 2020 after Rothwell and another man discussed finding his address and that of his father.
Rothwell soon got these details along with photographs of the men and images of their addresses from a satellite mapping application.
Mr Byrne's stepfather was later shot in the leg on the doorstep of his home by a gunman posing as a pizza delivery driver.
Following the infiltration of EncroChat, Rothwell was tracked down to an apartment in Barcelona in 2020 where he had fled after police in the UK handed him a "threat to life" notice.
Having been extradited back to the UK Rothwell pleaded guilty to conspiracies to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life, conspiracies to supply cocaine and ketamine, and two counts of conspiracy to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent.
Rothwell had now turned away from a life of crime
In mitigation, Mr Henley said Rothwell had spent five years thinking about his life since his arrest.
He now felt feelings of "remorse and regret", including for "breaking the hearts" of his family.
The defence barrister added: "He is tired of the life he has lived.
"He has expressed that all he has really achieved is isolation, loneliness, fear and a life away from his family."
Mr Henley said he wanted to put "aside the bravado, the hype, and glamorisation around serious offences, and communicate some hard truths to people about what life really looks like".
He added that Rothwell would "like to share with others - perhaps younger people who perhaps stand on the edge of some sort of offending precipice".
Mr Henley asked the judge to "acknowledge the steps [Rothwell] had already taken" when passing sentence.
"He is now a much older and wiser man than he was when he was 33 when these offences took place," he said.
Rothwell, who was flanked by four security guards in the dock, will appear via video link on Thursday for sentencing.