Son of 90s singer jailed for 10 years after message identified famous dad
A 30-year-old drug dealer was put behind bars for 10 years after police tracked him down due to his famous dad.
A team of specialist investigators identified him from messages about his musician father. An associate within their drug network even sent him a picture of his famous dad and made comments which confirmed their relationship.
Thomas Hooton, the son of The Farm lead singer Peter Hooton, has been jailed and sentenced to ten years and eight months for the supply of cocaine, ketamine, cannabis and heroin. The 30-year-old drug dealer, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply drugs, was using the name "Ownraptor" and quickly became a trusted broker of multi-million pound drug deals.
Thomas also wrote in messages that he was driving a black Audi A3 and his "arl fella", meaning his dad, had arranged the insurance. Thomas was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday.
On the back of his arrest by Merseyside's Organised Crime Partnership in April this year, Thomas made the decision to plead guilty.
He had been using the messaging service EncroChat to broker his drug deals which reportedly had the street value of an estimated £1.3million. Police were also able to detect that he had been using more than 40 names for contact and had also set up a county lines supply that covered Scotland, north-east and the south of England.
A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said: "At the very minimum, Hooton was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine."
They added: "His messages said he was in possession of around £400,000 and owed £258,000." The offences which led to his arrest were reportedly between March 26 and June 4 five years ago.
Detective Chief Inspector Lynsay Armbruster said: "It's clear Hooton was involved in organised crime for a long time before he was charged. His criminal and geographical reach will have taken considerable time to establish. His drug supply operations were on an almost daily basis, they were sustained and spanned the UK working with high level criminals."
EncroChat was deactivated in 2020 by a European investigation team.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Notorious Scots coke cartel hood ‘The Captain' has house and cars torched by maniac rivals
Cops are understood to have issued him with an Osman 'threat to life' warning following the attack MOB BOSS CRONY TARGETED Notorious Scots coke cartel hood 'The Captain' has house and cars torched by maniac rivals Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A COCAINE kingpin's house was firebombed after he was let home from jail to visit family, we can reveal. Paul 'The Captain' Fleming, 40, had his front door and two cars parked outside torched less than 12 hours after he was freed from Castle Huntly open nick on leave. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Cocaine trafficker Paul 'The Captain' Fleming was targeted 6 Sources claimed culprits were acting under orders of caged hitman Barry Harvey 6 It happened less than 12 hours after he was freed from Castle Huntly nick on leave Cops are understood to have issued him with an Osman 'threat to life' warning after visiting him in prison near Dundee following the chilling attack. Sources claimed the culprits were acting under the orders of caged hitman Barry Harvey, 37, when they targeted the pad in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow. The feared gun thug is said to have had a bust-up with Fleming — jailed for almost ten years for smuggling coke into the UK in solar panels alongside Scots cartel boss James 'The Don' White. An insider said last night: 'Fleming was only home half a day when four guys burned two of his cars and his house. 'Harvey has a personal gripe with Fleming and he's said to be behind it. 'Everybody knows Harvey is a dangerous guy and even though he's inside he still has the connections and power to go after his enemies.' None of the guys in Castle Huntly can stand Fleming. Police have been up to serve him an Osman warning. He's in real danger Our source It is believed married dad-of-four Fleming was due to be home for a week but had his leave cancelled after the attack just after 1am on July 17. Harvey was jailed for at least 29 years in March last year for shooting dead gym boss Gary More, 32, in Airdrie in 2018. He was part of a crew also nailed for murdering Rafal Lyko, 36, in Blantyre, plus a bid to kill Scott Bennett, 43, in Rutherglen, near Glasgow. Our source added: 'None of the guys in Castle Huntly can stand Fleming. Drug dealer son of iconic 1990s band's lead singer who was snared by cops after finding messages about his dad is jailed "Police have been up to serve him an Osman warning. He's in real danger.' We told how Fleming and White made millions through the coke in solar panels racket. They were snared when cops cracked the secret EncroChat phones used by mobs to direct operations. Everybody knows Harvey is a dangerous guy and even though he's inside he still has the connections and power to go after his enemies An insider Fleming fled to Alicante, Spain, in 2019 but was extradited back to Britain to face justice two years ago. He was ordered to pay back just £126,000 during a proceeds of crime hearing in February — despite amassing at least £2million from the plot. White got almost a decade in jail in 2023 for masterminding the global operation. Police said: 'We were called to a report of a wilful vehicle fire in Bishopbriggs. Enquiries continue.' The Scottish Prison Service said: 'We do not comment on individuals.' 6 Fleming was the right-hand man to cartel boss James 'The Don' White Credit: PA 6 It happened less than 12 hours after he was freed from Castle Huntly nick on leave
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text review – do we really need to see these criminals on the toilet?
Sure, they may be trafficking drugs and firearms and plotting murders, but – really – organised criminal gangs are just like you and me. Operation Dark Phone: Murder By Text opens with a reconstruction of a British gang leader texting one of his crew (some scenes have been dramatised, we are told, but all SMS messages are real). 'You OK bro?' asks the associate. 'Yeah, just making brekkie,' our fearsome crim replies, sending a picture of what appears to be a bowl of porridge and cucumber. Very weird breakfast but, look, that's not the point. The point is that Operation Dark Phone – Channel 4's new four-parter about how police infiltrated a shady encrypted phone network – is littered with so-bad-they're-actually-just-bad reconstructions of this smug, shirtless character swaggering around his greige Dubai penthouse. As well as snaps of his food, we must watch him on the bog with his Calvins around his ankles; taking mirror selfies of his tattooed gym bod; and reclining in bed with an LED tooth-whitening kit in his mouth. It's less Tony Soprano, more Joey Essex. Channel 4 provided one episode for review, which is a shame because the other half of the programme is pretty interesting. Away from the reconstructions, this is a documentary about how the UK's National Crime Agency gained access to that encrypted network alongside their European counterparts for 74 days. It was, says the NCA's Marni Roberts, 'like being down a dark pipe, and suddenly putting a bright light on.' Elsewhere, her colleague Matt Horne describes EncroChat as 'the LinkedIn of organised crime'. However, it was also totally anonymous: once inside, it was down to the NCA to piece together clues such as addresses and photos to work out who the gang members were. (Luckily, our man – codenamed Live-long – sent a selfie to a group chat, which helped things along nicely). EncroChat offered a treasure trove of information, but that data was also delivered to law enforcement with a 24-hour delay. As such, when it came to thwarting the very real threats to life discussed in the messages, they were often operating on borrowed time. Sometimes, they were too late. As investigator Mick Pope puts it after a particularly shocking few days in north-west England: ''Eckin' hell, Warrington's turned into the fuckin' wild west over the weekend.' If soundbites like that make Operation Dark Phone sound less than serious, then rest assured there are some truly heinous characters at the centre of it. As well as swapping pictures of their porridge, Live-long and his gang casually arranged acid attacks as if they were ordering takeaways. His rival, Ace Prospect, was also on EncroChat; when one of his underlings expressed his reservations at launching a grenade into an enemy's garden, Ace said it would be fine, because their child was six months old, so too young to pick it up. When the documentary zooms in on just how dangerous these people are, it is chilling. But it also makes the dramatic parts feel even tackier. Another problem: an alias of one of the criminals was Top Shag, another was Ball Sniffer. I know, I know, the texts are all supposed to be real and verbatim. But surely they could have changed those names a little? Watching NCA agents keep a straight face while discussing Ball Sniffer's activities feels like something only Chris Morris could have masterminded. The real tragedy here, though, is that Operation Dark Phone would have been interesting enough in its own right, without a cringey sideshow. The series was made by the team behind 24 Hours in Police Custody, notable for finding the drama and discomfort in the everyday. Not every series can be a fly-on-the-wall affair, but this goes too far the other way, and risks glamorising these men. If that sounds far-fetched, consider that Ace Prospect is shown enjoying sushi and acupuncture at an 'unknown location' in Asia, which looks amazing. As we learn, of course, crime does not pay, especially when you are as incompetent as this lot who – as well as sending selfies – also ended up selling weapons to their rivals by mistake. But in trying to make this into a piece of millennial-friendly true crime, it feels as if Operation Dark Phone gives the bad guys too much of a starring role. The NCA clearly did all the hard work here – here's hoping we get to hear some more about it. Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text is on Channel 4.
Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Jess Carter melts England fans' hearts and admits she was ‘scared to play' in Euro 2025 final after personal struggles
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JESS CARTER admitted she was 'super scared' of playing in England's Euros final triumph. Before the semi-final win over Italy, the Lionesses defender revealed she'd received racist abuse from online trolls during the tournament. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Jess Carter gave an emotional interview after the final 5 Carter admitted she was 'scared' to play in the Euro 2025 final Credit: Getty 5 Carter, who was excellent against Spain, received vile racist abuse on social media Credit: AP Carter, 27, was put back in the starting line-up for last night's penalty shootout triumph over Spain - after being put on the bench against the Italians. And the Gotham FC star says she was a bag of nerves going into the final after a recall from boss Sarina Wiegman. Carter said: 'I was super scared of playing the final for the first time in my life. 'When I woke up in the morning and saw my team and saw the support I had - and the belief I had from my team-mates, manager and family - I had I could come out and give my all. That's all you can do. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL HEAVEN AND KEL Chloe Kelly steals the show after scoring winning goal in TWO Euros finals 'It's incredible, the fans have been incredible all tournament and we couldn't have done this without them. 'We're so grateful for them and this moment. Giving up is not in our DNA. We have stuck together from minute one. I couldn't be prouder of this team and I'm so honoured to be proud of it. 'I'm more disappointed in myself previous performances than anyone else.' England team-mates, staff and fans rallied around Carter after she revealed vile abuse she had been subjected to. 5 England made it back-to-back Euro championships Credit: Getty BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Before the extra-time win against Italy on Tuesday, England's subs stood arm-in-arm with Carter after the players opted against taking the knee before kick-off. But Carter kept her cool to emerge as a European champion. Fans go wild as England beat Spain on penalties to win Women's Euro 2025 final Asked how she's going to celebrate, she said: 'Getting very drunk!' In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: "From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. "Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don't agree or think it's ok to target someone's appearance or race." She said she was stepping back to "protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team any way I can". "Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won't have to deal with it," she added. 5 Jess Carter stands with her hands on her head and can barely believe that England have won the Euros again Credit: PA The Lionesses posted a message from the squad with the caption: "We stand with Jess, and all #Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism." It reads: "No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life. "Representing our country is the greatest honour. It's not right that while we are doing that some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin."
