Latest news with #ThomasHooton
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Drug kingpin bragged about being famous singer's son in covert text messages
A 30‑year‑old man who had brokered multi‑million‑pound drug deals has been jailed after police pieced together his identity from encrypted messages referencing his famous father. Thomas Hooton, of Victoria Road West in Crosby, Liverpool, used the messaging service EncroChat, under the name 'Ownraptor', to deal heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine, with a wholesale value of approximately £1.3 million. His arrest in April followed a covert operation by Merseyside 's organised crime partnership, comprising officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Merseyside Police. The NCA said Hooton was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine. They also found that Hooton was in possession of about £400,000 and owed others £258,000. They added he had messaged 41 different contacts using EncroChat, a messaging service that was infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce, and was running a drug supply operation that ran to Scotland and England's North East and South. He was identified by police after sending a photo of his father, Peter, the lead singer of indie stalwarts The Farm, holding the Champions League trophy to contacts on EncroChat. He also spoke in the messages about driving a black Audi A3, saying that his 'arl fella' had sorted the insurance for him. The police then checked Peter Hooton's insurance and found that he had insured a car for his son, which was the same make and model mentioned. Hooton pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs between 26 March and 4 June 2020. He was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail on Friday. 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.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Son of The Farm's singer jailed for £1.3m drug supply
The son of the lead singer of the band The Farm has been jailed for running a drug operation which spanned the UK. Police discovered the identity of Thomas Hooton, 30, from encrypted messages he exchanged with organised criminals about his musician father, Peter. He used the messaging service EncroChat to deal drugs with a wholesale value of around £1.3m, the National Crime Agency said. Hooton, of Victoria Road West, Crosby, Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine and was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail. Hooton was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine and brokered "high level deals", Merseyside Police said. He had messaged 41 different contacts under the name Ownraptor on EncroChat, the force said. Detectives found he had a county lines drug supply operation which ran to Scotland, the north east and the south of England. 'Criminal reach' Police said one of the key details to discovering Thomas' identity was a picture of his father with the Champions League trophy sent via EncroChat. He also spoke in the messages about driving a black Audi A3 and that his "arl fella'" arranged his insurance for him. Official checks showed Peter Hooton insured a black Audi A3 for his son Thomas. The encrypted chats also revealed he was in possession of about £400,000 and owed others £258,000. Det Chief Insp 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 infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Related internet links Merseyside Police
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Son of The Farm's Peter Hooton jailed for £1.3m Encrochat operation
The son of the lead singer of the band The Farm has been jailed for running a drug operation which spanned the UK. Police discovered the identity of Thomas Hooton, 30, from encrypted messages he exchanged with organised criminals about his musician father, used the messaging service EncroChat to deal drugs with a wholesale value of around £1.3m, the National Crime Agency said. Hooton, of Victoria Road West, Crosby, Liverpool, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine and was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in jail. Hooton was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine and brokered "high level deals", Merseyside Police had messaged 41 different contacts under the name Ownraptor on EncroChat, the force said. Detectives found he had a county lines drug supply operation which ran to Scotland, the north east and the south of England. 'Criminal reach' Police said one of the key details to discovering Thomas' identity was a picture of his father with the Champions League trophy sent via also spoke in the messages about driving a black Audi A3 and that his "arl fella'" arranged his insurance for checks showed Peter Hooton insured a black Audi A3 for his son encrypted chats also revealed he was in possession of about £400,000 and owed others £258, Chief Insp 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 infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
The Farm lead singer's son is jailed for 10 years after he was identified as £1.3million drug dealer when he sent picture of his pop star dad to criminal pal on EncroChat
The son of an iconic 1990s pop star has been jailed for 10 years after being identified as a major drug dealer when he sent a photo of his father on EncroChat. Thomas Hooton, 30, brokered drug deals worth £1.3million for organised criminals using the encrypted messaging service. But police were able to identify the criminal - who used the handle 'Ownraptor' - by references to his father Peter Hooton, 62, lead singer of The Farm. This included a picture the Liverpool fan sent of his father with the Champions League trophy. He also spoke in messages about driving a Black Audi A3 and that his 'arl fella' arranged his insurance. Hooton, of Crosby, was jailed for 10 years and eight months on Friday for conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine. He had 41 different EncroChat contacts, and ran county lines routes to criminals in Scotland, the north east and the south of England. At the very minimum, he was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine. His messages said he was in possession of around £400,000 and owed £258,000. The offending was committed between 26 March and 4 June 2020. The Merseyside Organised Crime Partnership, which arrested Hooton in April, is made up of officers from the National Crime Agency and Merseyside Police. Peter Hooton founded The Farm in 1983, with the band releasing a string of hits including their best known song, All Together Now. Charles Lander, defending, told the court that Thomas came from a 'close knit and loving family' but had 'lost his way and began mixing with the wrong crowd'. A string of 'prominent individuals', including West Derby MP Ian Byrne offered character references showing 'another side to the defendant' and his 'genuine remorse'. Mr Landler told the court: 'His parents, grandparents and partner are all adjusting to the fact that he will not be around for a number of years. 'I ask the court to reflect on the positive features that your honour knows about him. This is a defendant who has begun the first steps of rehabilitation. He is determined to lead a law abiding lifestyle and not trouble the courts again.' Judge Denis Watson KC said: 'Remorse and personal circumstances can play a significant part in the determination of sentences at the lower end, but, for crimes of the seriousness involved here, the part that they can play is much more limited. 'Lest anyone overlook this, all drug supply offences are offences of significant gravity and seriousness. 'These offences result in degradation and human misery for those who take the drugs, and for their families and the wider community. 'So much crime, and the impact of that crime on victims and society, generally flows from drug supply and the consequences of it.' 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 infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce. The NCA leads Operation Venetic – the UK's response to the takedown. Merseyside OCP officers are committed to protecting the public by stopping the flow of firearms and drugs into Merseyside's criminal markets and county lines networks. Thomas Hooton will appear before Liverpool Crown Court later this year for a proceeds of crime hearing.
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
Drug dealer son of iconic 1990s band's lead singer who was snared by cops after finding messages about his dad is jailed
THE drug dealer son of an iconic '90s singer has been jailed after being identified in texts linked to his dad. Thomas Hooton, 30, was trusted to broker multi-million pound drug deals for organised criminals using an encrypted messaging service. 2 2 However, specialist officers were able to identify the criminal - who was using the name "Ownraptor" - by linking messages on the account to the identity of his dad Peter Hooton, 62, lead singer of The Farm. Today, the 30-year-old was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to 10 years and eight months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine. Specialist investigators had managed to nick the drug dealer after piecing together a number of clues about his identity - including pictures of his musician dad with the Champions League trophy. On one occasion, an associate sent Hooton a picture of his dad Peter and also made comments linking the criminal to him. Hooton also spoke in messages about driving a Black Audi A3 and that his 'arl fella'' arranged his insurance for him. Official checks then showed Peter Hooton had insured a black Audi A3 for his son. After being arrested by officers from Merseyside's Organised Crime Partnership in April, Hooton later pleaded guilty to the supply of a number of drugs. All in all, he had been messaging criminals on the service EncroChat to deal drugs with a wholesale value of around £1.3 million. The drug dealer had 41 different names for contacts within EncroChat and had a County Lines drug supply to criminals across Scotland as well as north-east and southern 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. "His messages said he was in possession of around £400,000 and owed £258,000." His offences were committed between March 26 and June 4 in 2020. 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 infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce.
