The smug selfie which helped seal Jamie Rothwell's fate
Rothwell, 38, was handed a huge 43 year sentence after admitting a series of gun and drug crimes. He was revealed to have ordered a gangland shooting, arranged huge drug deals and sold deadly weapons over EncroChat, the encrypted communications network which was hacked by European law enforcement.
Rothwell, who was holed up in an apartment in Barcelona in 2020 while he plotted with other members of the criminal underworld, was dragged back to the UK to face justice. Police discovered he was the man operating the 'live-long' username on EncroChat after he sent this selfie to another user.
READ MORE: Dad, 27, dies after Manchester Airport arrest as further details heard
READ MORE: Man, 30, saw £1,300 Universal Credit payment hadn't arrived... the reason left him stunned
He was finally sentenced today at Manchester Crown Court, appearing via video link from HMP Wakefield. Rothwell had been brought to court yesterday under armed guard to listen to his barrister make submissions to the judge on his behalf.
Sign up to the MEN Court newsletter here
Rothwell had pleaded guilty to a series of gun and drug offences. He received a total sentence of 43 years. His sentence is comprised of a total of 18 years for drugs offences, and a consecutive 25 year extended sentence for firearms offences. The extended sentence includes 21 years in prison and an extra four years on licence.
Sentencing, Judge John Potter told him: "Mr Rothwell, you have lived much of your life as a professional criminal involved in serious organised crime.
"The offences you fall to be sentenced for graphically illustrate your willingness to follow this path and cause loss and misery to others as you do so. You issued orders to others and you expected them to be obeyed. I heard evidence from your co-accused that they feared you.
"You obtained wealth by having access to millions of pounds of cash." The judge said that Rothwell, who lived in Spain and Portugal, had dealt over 200 kilos of cocaine and five kilos of ketamine, with the cocaine alone said to be worth £7 million."
Rothwell was a leading light in the Salford gang feud which erupted between 2014 and 2019 between rival outfits the A Team and the Anti A-Team. Rothwell was said to be the right-hand-man of Michael Carroll, the alleged leader of the Anti A-Team, in opposition to the A-Team, said to be led by Stephen Britton. Gangster Paul Massey was said to be Britton's mentor.
Rothwell was shot at a car wash in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, in March 2015 as part of the feud. A gun man sprayed bullets at him but Rothwell survived. In July that year, Massey was shot dead outside his home in Salford by Mark Fellows, an Anti A-Team associate nicknamed The Iceman.
Months later, in October, seven-year-old Christian Hickey was shot at his doorstep as the A Team sought revenge in a botched hit, thought to have been targeting the schoolboy's father, a close associate of Carroll. Rothwell was extradited back to the UK from Spain in June 2020 following the EncroChat hack.
Months later, in October that year, Rothwell went on trial at Manchester Crown Court alongside four other men, including Mark Fellows, accused of conspiring to murder two A Team associates, after one was shot in February 2015 and the other attacked with a machete in March that year.
Rothwell was found not guilty of all charges. At some point after his acquittals, Rothwell left the country. He was arrested in Amsterdam on December 14, 2020, before being extradited back to the UK in March 2021 after police obtained a European Arrest Warrant.
Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE
In connection with the EncroChat case, Rothwell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life; one count of conspiracy to possess ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, namely cocaine; two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and a single count of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class B, namely ketamine.
He pleaded not guilty to five other charges. They were two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent; two counts of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of Class A, namely diamorphine and cannabis and a single count of possession of criminal property, namely money. Rothwell had been on trial last year after denying a series of charges, but the case was adjourned after he was stabbed in prison.
Nine other men were also sentenced as part of Rothwell's case.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Met Police urged to scrap facial recognition at Notting Hill Carnival over 'racial bias' fears
Civil liberties and anti-racism groups have called on Met Police to abandon plans to deploy Live Facial Recognition (LFR) at this year's Notting Hill Carnival, warning of 'racial bias.' In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, 11 organisations, including Liberty, Big Brother Watch, and the Runnymede Trust, described LFR as 'mass surveillance' that 'treats all Carnival-goers as potential suspects.' It comes after Met Police announced plans to use facial recognition technology on the approaches to and from the event this year, though cameras will not be placed within the carnival boundaries themselves. Officers will use the cameras to identify individuals wanted by police, missing persons who might be at risk of exploitation and those subject to sexual harm prevention orders. The technology captures live footage and compares faces against a database of known offenders. But the groups have expressed their disappointment at the decision to reintroduce the technology at Carnival, warning that it may be 'less accurate for women and people of colour.' The letter states: "There is no clear legal basis for your force's use of LFR. No law mentions facial recognition technology and Parliament has never considered or scrutinised its use,' according to the BBC. "Notting Hill Carnival is an event that specifically celebrates the British African Caribbean community, yet the [Metropolitan Police] is choosing to use a technology with a well-documented history of inaccurate outcomes and racial bias." The letter also highlighted concerns over a 2023 National Physical Laboratory study, which found that the Met's NeoFace system showed reduced accuracy for women and people of colour, depending on the algorithm used. The Met says LFR is accurate and balanced across ethnicity and gender and has insisted it will help keep people safe. The force emphasised strict safeguards were in place and anyone passing a camera who is not on the watchlist will have their biometrics immediately and permanently deleted. Police will deploy around 7,000 officers each day during the August Bank Holiday weekend event, focusing heavily on public safety, particularly preventing knife crime and violence against women and girls. So far in 2025, LFR has been deployed 111 times across London, leading to 512 arrests. During Carnival weekend, alerts from LFR systems will prompt officers to investigate further, although an alert does not automatically mean an arrest. Met Police has been contacted by The Standard for comment.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Fatal Brooklyn lounge shooting reignites NYC mayoral candidate clash over gun violence response
BROOKLYN, NY -- Zohran Mamdani told reporters on Sunday that the fatal shooting in New York City hours earlier was the latest example of the "scourge of gun violence" in the country's most populous city. New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that there were 12 victims, including three fatalities, in a suspected gang-related shooting at the Taste of the City Lounge in the borough's Crown Heights section. During a canvass launch event in the Prospect Park neighborhood, Mamdani told reporters that the incident is "yet another example of the scourge of gun violence that has taken hold across so much of our city." The New York City Democratic mayoral nominee noted that just three weeks ago, the city experienced its deadliest mass shooting in 25 years when a gunman killed four people in Midtown Manhattan before taking his own life. Mamdani called for investing "in the very kind of programs and services that have been proven effective at combating this epidemic" of gun violence, specifically scaling up what he referred to as New York's crisis management system. The mayoral hopeful said on Sunday that he is proposing 275% increased investment in the Department of Community Safety. Last month's Manhattan shooting propelled Mamdani's past comments, including those calling to defund the NYPD, to center stage in the race for Gracie Mansion. "My statements in 2020 were ones made amidst a frustration that many New Yorkers held at the murder of George Floyd," Mamdani responded last month when a reporter asked if he regretted any of his prior comments. Mamdani has since walked back his stance on defunding police, but his competitors, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seized on such comments, telling CNN that Mamdani doesn't understand the "importance of NYPD." As details emerged on Sunday about the fatal shooting in Brooklyn, incumbent mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, claimed his administration has driven down crime by removing illegal guns from the streets. "What I can tell you, we will continue our aggressive pursuit to remove these illegal guns off our streets. Every single victim of violence, particularly gun violence, is one too many," he said. In a statement on X, Cuomo called the incident "another horrific mass shooting." "My heart goes out to the victims and to their loved ones. Public safety is, and always has been, Job 1. This isn't the time to defund or dismantle the police. We need more officers, not less, to keep our communities safe," Cuomo said, in an apparent political jab at Mamdani and his past comments. Meanwhile, the Republican mayoral nominee, Curtis Sliwa, CEO of the Guardian Angels, said his "thoughts are with the victims and their families after this latest shooting." "Cuomo's pro-criminal laws created this mess, and Mamdani's radical agenda would only make it worse. The status quo has failed. I'm the only candidate with the courage to restore law and order in NYC," Sliwa said in a statement on X.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Zohran Mamdani responds to the fatal shooting in Brooklyn early Sunday morning
Speaking with reporters at a canvass launch event in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NYC Democratic mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, called the shooting "another example of the scourge of gun violence" in New York City.
