Latest news with #Encrochat
Scottish Sun
16-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Crime kingpin Conor McGregor snared in Morocco after running £8m cocaine operation in Scotland
He used the encrypted phone network Encrochat to source safe houses for drugs DRUG BARON NAILED Crime kingpin Conor McGregor snared in Morocco after running £8m cocaine operation in Scotland A SCOTS crime kingpin involved in a multi-million drug trafficking operation was caught in Morocco. Conor McGregor, 32, was arrested in the African nation on July 19 2024 and later extradited to Scotland. Advertisement 1 Conor McGregor was arrested in the African nation Credit: Alamy McGregor was the leader of an organised crime group based in Moray which was involved in the sourcing and distribution of cocaine and heroin north and south of the border. He used the encrypted phone network Encrochat to source safe houses for drugs, the distrubution of money and conduct deals. McGregor - who was latterly living in Spain - was caught after European law enforcement breached the Encrochat servers. McGregor pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to being involved in serious organised crime. Advertisement The charge spans between May 2019 and July 2022. The court heard that Police Scotland led an intelligence based operation on the Moray crime gang which had links to the west of Scotland. Prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel said: "McGregor, as head of the organised crime group, was responsible for sourcing the drugs, arranging payment, collection of the drugs and the division of those drugs for onward supply." McGregor directed others to have a "hands on" role in the payment and transportation of drugs. Advertisement He then oversaw the supply of the drugs and gathering of the proceeds. This included the delivery of money to the west of Scotland and Manchester. Drugs kingpins guilty of plotting murder and running drugs empire on EncroChat The hidden Encrochat network used by criminal was breached by law enforcement which revealed McGregor's actions. In 2020, McGregor spoke to one associate in which he said that he sold 10 kilos of cocaine per month. Advertisement Miss Dalziel said: "Within a period of five months, McGregor on his own account, was concerned in the supply of 50 kilograms of cocaine which would have a street value of between £5 and 7.5 million." McGregor also stated that he was "shifting" 10 to 20 kilos of cannabis which would had a maximum value of £228,500 per month. He was also claimed to have made £959,900 within a five-month period from cannabis in 2023. Miss Dalziel said: "It may reasonably be inferred that in the intervening period between May 2019 and July 2023, McGregor was engaged in a not dissimilar level of wholesale drug dealing." Advertisement McGregor was also seen to have expressed his level in the drug dealing chain. He told one associate: 'I don't talk to normal people anymore. Its a sad existence now. Criminals only kinda thing.' The Encrochat breach further revealed McGregor directing the transport of diamorphine, amphetamine and adulterants. It was deemed that if McGregor supplied one kilo of the diamorphine per month, then he would have made upwards of £50,000. Advertisement McGregor was also seen to discuss money. Between January 24 and May 29 2020, a total of £276,200 was the subject of conversation. Drugs which McGregor was involved in were recovered by police on two occasions. A car was stopped in Aviemore in May 2020 which contained a potential value of £1.4 million of cocaine. The drugs were found in a JD Sports bag as well as a holdall. Advertisement McGregor was told on Encrochat by an associate after the bust: "Bro I've lost five boxes of white." The two men involved received total prison sentences of nine years and eight months. Another man was jailed for 32 months as a result of the second bust at his home in Aberlour in July 2022. Officers recovered £253,000 of cocaine in a shed at the property. Advertisement McGregor was seen to be in contact with the associate who he paid £400 per week to hold the drugs. McGregor also gave the associate the password of "Juventus" when meeting a man who would purchase the drugs. McGregor was further involved in a drug deal from Manchester to Scotland between March and April 2020. A premium known as a "Jock Transfer" was put on the price of the drugs which went over the border. Advertisement A warrant was issed for McGregor's arrest who was believed to have owned property and lived in Spain. McGregor was traced to Morocco in July 2024 and was returned to the UK in January 2025. Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month by Judge Tom Hughes who continued McGregor's remand in custody meantime.
The Herald Scotland
16-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Scots drug kingpin caught in Morocco after Encrochat servers breached
McGregor was the leader of an organised crime group based in Moray which was involved in the sourcing and distribution of cocaine and heroin north and south of the border. He used the encrypted phone network Encrochat to source safe houses for drugs, the distrubution of money and conduct deals. McGregor - who was latterly living in Spain - was caught after European law enforcement breached the Encrochat servers. McGregor pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to being involved in serious organised crime. The charge spans between May 2019 and July 2022. The court heard that Police Scotland led an intelligence-based operation on the Moray crime gang which had links to the west of Scotland. Read More Prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel said: "McGregor, as head of the organised crime group, was responsible for sourcing the drugs, arranging payment, collection of the drugs and the division of those drugs for onward supply." McGregor directed others to have a "hands on" role in the payment and transportation of drugs. He then oversaw the supply of the drugs and gathering of the proceeds. This included the delivery of money to the west of Scotland and Manchester. The hidden Encrochat network used by criminal was breached by law enforcement which revealed McGregor's actions. In 2020, McGregor spoke to one associate in which he said that he sold 10 kilos of cocaine per month. Miss Dalziel said: "Within a period of five months, McGregor on his own account, was concerned in the supply of 50 kilograms of cocaine which would have a street value of between £5 and 7.5 million." McGregor also stated that he was "shifting" 10 to 20 kilos of cannabis which would had a maximum value of £228,500 per month. He was also claimed to have made £959,900 within a five-month period from cannabis in 2023. Miss Dalziel said: "It may reasonably be inferred that in the intervening period between May 2019 and July 2023, McGregor was engaged in a not dissimilar level of wholesale drug dealing." McGregor was also seen to have expressed his level in the drug dealing chain. He told one associate: 'I don't talk to normal people anymore. Its a sad existence now. Criminals only kinda thing.' The Encrochat breach further revealed McGregor directing the transport of diamorphine, amphetamine and adulterants. It was deemed that if McGregor supplied one kilo of the diamorphine per month, then he would have made upwards of £50,000. McGregor was also seen to discuss money. Between January 24 and May 29 2020, a total of £276,200 was the subject of conversation. Drugs which McGregor was involved in were recovered by police on two occasions. A car was stopped in Aviemore in May 2020 which contained a potential value of £1.4 million of cocaine. The drugs were found in a JD Sports bag as well as a holdall. McGregor was told on Encrochat by an associate after the bust: "Bro I've lost five boxes of white." The two men involved received total prison sentences of nine years and eight months. Another man was jailed for 32 months as a result of the second bust at his home in Aberlour in July 2022. Officers recovered £253,000 of cocaine in a shed at the property. McGregor was seen to be in contact with the associate who he paid £400 per week to hold the drugs. McGregor also gave the associate the password of "Juventus" when meeting a man who would purchase the drugs. McGregor was further involved in a drug deal from Manchester to Scotland between March and April 2020. A premium known as a "Jock Transfer" was put on the price of the drugs which went over the border. A warrant was issued for McGregor's arrest who was believed to have owned property and lived in Spain. McGregor was traced to Morocco in July 2024 and was returned to the UK in January 2025. Sentencing at Edinburgh High Court was deferred pending background reports until next month by Judge Tom Hughes who continued McGregor's remand in custody meantime.
Sunday World
07-07-2025
- Sunday World
Shadowy Kinahan cartel fixer's five-star lifestyle laid bare in CAB case
Convicted drug dealer Sam O'Sullivan also became a major supplier of encrypted technology for gangland mobster During the hearing at Dublin's High Court, it was also revealed that a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas in August 2017 cost €2,000 A shadowy Kinahan cartel fixer travelled the world in five-star luxury as he jetted from Baku in Azerbaijan to Las Vegas, London and Dubai. Convicted drug dealer Sam O'Sullivan, who spent an astonishing €190,000 educating his daughters in a posh Swiss school, also became a major supplier of encrypted technology for gangland mobsters. However, it was the hacking of the Encrochat system by French police that led gardai to Ciaran 'Sam' O'Sullivan, and the Chinese money laundering operation he was using in Ireland. 18 Google Pixel Phones The one-time protégé of Christy Kinahan Snr from south county Dublin clocked up so many air miles that he possessed a prized British Airways Executive Club gold card and an Aer Lingus Concierge card. O'Sullivan's lavish lifestyle emerged this month in a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) case against him, after a series of raids in June 2020. The Bureau found he had funnelled more than €700,000 through an aunt's credit card account for flights and hotels around the world. O'Sullivan used multiple currencies on his Revolut account and transferred $318,000 worth of crypto on the Coinbase exchange until his account was shut down for suspicious activity. During the hearing at Dublin's High Court, it was also revealed that a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas in August 2017 cost €2,000, with another €7,000 paid for tickets to Conor McGregor's fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. 34 Apple iPhones The cartel fixer was also at the Dave Haye v Tony Bellew fight in London earlier that year, where he forked out Stg£1,100 for a ticket. He stayed at the luxury five-star Rosewood Hotel in London and also bought tickets for the Vienna Opera House in Austria. O'Sullivan took a flight from Baku to Dubai in 2019, a short time before Daniel Kinahan was photographed in the Azerbaijan capital at an event with boxing promoter Bob Arum. It also emerged that one of O'Sullivan's daughters was used to bring home documents from Switzerland relating to her father's business. When officers searched the aunt's home in Glenageary, Dublin, they found a tick list with Encrochat codenames which appeared to show what was owed by each one. There was also a handwritten note pleading for a debt to be cancelled. The document was given to O'Sullivan's daughter by 'a close family friend' who asked that it be passed onto her father. The young woman 'indicated that her dad worked in computers.' 'However, she also said that she does not want to know what he does for a living as she suspects it was criminal in nature,' a Bureau officer said in evidence. 1oz Gold Coin The Bureau claimed O'Sullivan used his 20 years of contacts in the drugs underworld to sell Encrochat handsets to Irish criminals, and was the country's biggest supplier of the technology. An associate, Robert Noctor, was arrested with a stash of phones and €93,000 in cash in 2020 and left the country shortly after that. He told gardai he sold handsets for €1,500 each and top-ups cost €600 every three months. When gardai carried out the raids on O'Sullivan and the Chinese money laundering operation in June 2020, he was living with Noctor's ex-wife. Gardai found O'Sullivan hiding in the ensuite toilet at her Co Wicklow home with three encrypted phones, two of which were concealed under folded towels. While selling encrypted phones is not illegal, French police say that 90 per cent of users are in involved in crime. A Bureau officer stated in his evidence that through his criminal contacts, O'Sullivan became 'a major player' in the sale and supply of the phones to criminal gangs. During the hearing at Dublin's High Court, it was also revealed that a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas in August 2017 cost €2,000 Such activity is effectively an offence by 'enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation or any of its members to commit a serious offence'. The Bureau also found he sold Encrochat phones to customers in Liverpool and Poland, while the Sunday World recently reported how he is alleged to have supplied users in France as well. The Encrochat system was operational from 2015 until June 2020 after it was infiltrated by police. It also emerged that as far back as 2017 Irish criminals were using the phones supplied by O'Sullivan when three men were stopped in a car with a batch of Encrochat handsets. The men, described as 'well-known criminals from west Dublin', were in the vehicle which contained a box addressed to O'Sullivan. In the box were 10 BQ Aquaris phones, the type preferred for use with the Encrochat system, and all were marked with user's codenames. One of those men, Jordan Keogh (29) from Rowlagh Park in Clondalkin, was later jailed for money laundering after being caught with €122,715 in November 2020. The following year, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau caught him in possession of an automatic handgun and ammunition. He was caught again with €47,950 in September that year, according to the affidavit evidence. €27K Rolex Another man in the car, Gareth Dunne (31), from Harelawn Crescent, has 82 previous convictions, including nine for drugs but 'these convictions do not accurately portray his level of involvement in the drug trafficking industry in west Dublin.' Dunne, who was formally warned by gardai about a threat to his life, was found with €27,151 in cash while on his way to buy a Rolex watch from a city centre jewellers in May 2020. O'Sullivan's links to Christy Kinahan Snr and other cartel figures such as Bernard Clancy and Chris Casserly were highlighted, along with his drug dealing convictions in Spain and Holland. Judge Alexander Owens last week found that the 34 iPhones, 18 Google Pixel smartphones, 10 Samsung Galaxy phones, a Rolex watch and a one-ounce gold coin found in the 2020 searches were all the proceeds of crime. Also included was €3,060 cash that was seized during the search of the house in Glenageary and his girlfriend's house in Tulfarris, Co Wicklow. Ciaran 'Sam' O'Sullivan was a one time protégé of Christy Kinahan Snr, left Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 7th
Sunday World
07-07-2025
- Sunday World
Shadowy Kinahan cartel fixer has lavish five-star lifestyle laid bare in CAB case
Convicted drug dealer Sam O'Sullivan also became a major supplier of encrypted technology for gangland mobster During the hearing at Dublin's High Court, it was also revealed that a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas in August 2017 cost €2,000 A shadowy Kinahan cartel fixer travelled the world in five-star luxury as he jetted from Baku in Azerbaijan to Las Vegas, London and Dubai. Convicted drug dealer Sam O'Sullivan, who spent an astonishing €190,000 educating his daughters in a posh Swiss school, also became a major supplier of encrypted technology for gangland mobsters. However, it was the hacking of the Encrochat system by French police that led gardai to Ciaran 'Sam' O'Sullivan, and the Chinese money laundering operation he was using in Ireland. 18 Google Pixel Phones The one-time protégé of Christy Kinahan Snr from south county Dublin clocked up so many air miles that he possessed a prized British Airways Executive Club gold card and an Aer Lingus Concierge card. O'Sullivan's lavish lifestyle emerged this month in a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) case against him, after a series of raids in June 2020. The Bureau found he had funnelled more than €700,000 through an aunt's credit card account for flights and hotels around the world. O'Sullivan used multiple currencies on his Revolut account and transferred $318,000 worth of crypto on the Coinbase exchange until his account was shut down for suspicious activity. During the hearing at Dublin's High Court, it was also revealed that a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas in August 2017 cost €2,000, with another €7,000 paid for tickets to Conor McGregor's fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. 34 Apple iPhones The cartel fixer was also at the Dave Haye v Tony Bellew fight in London earlier that year, where he forked out Stg£1,100 for a ticket. He stayed at the luxury five-star Rosewood Hotel in London and also bought tickets for the Vienna Opera House in Austria. O'Sullivan took a flight from Baku to Dubai in 2019, a short time before Daniel Kinahan was photographed in the Azerbaijan capital at an event with boxing promoter Bob Arum. It also emerged that one of O'Sullivan's daughters was used to bring home documents from Switzerland relating to her father's business. When officers searched the aunt's home in Glenageary, Dublin, they found a tick list with Encrochat codenames which appeared to show what was owed by each one. There was also a handwritten note pleading for a debt to be cancelled. The document was given to O'Sullivan's daughter by 'a close family friend' who asked that it be passed onto her father. The young woman 'indicated that her dad worked in computers.' 'However, she also said that she does not want to know what he does for a living as she suspects it was criminal in nature,' a Bureau officer said in evidence. 1oz Gold Coin The Bureau claimed O'Sullivan used his 20 years of contacts in the drugs underworld to sell Encrochat handsets to Irish criminals, and was the country's biggest supplier of the technology. An associate, Robert Noctor, was arrested with a stash of phones and €93,000 in cash in 2020 and left the country shortly after that. He told gardai he sold handsets for €1,500 each and top-ups cost €600 every three months. When gardai carried out the raids on O'Sullivan and the Chinese money laundering operation in June 2020, he was living with Noctor's ex-wife. Gardai found O'Sullivan hiding in the ensuite toilet at her Co Wicklow home with three encrypted phones, two of which were concealed under folded towels. While selling encrypted phones is not illegal, French police say that 90 per cent of users are in involved in crime. A Bureau officer stated in his evidence that through his criminal contacts, O'Sullivan became 'a major player' in the sale and supply of the phones to criminal gangs. During the hearing at Dublin's High Court, it was also revealed that a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas in August 2017 cost €2,000 Such activity is effectively an offence by 'enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation or any of its members to commit a serious offence'. The Bureau also found he sold Encrochat phones to customers in Liverpool and Poland, while the Sunday World recently reported how he is alleged to have supplied users in France as well. The Encrochat system was operational from 2015 until June 2020 after it was infiltrated by police. It also emerged that as far back as 2017 Irish criminals were using the phones supplied by O'Sullivan when three men were stopped in a car with a batch of Encrochat handsets. The men, described as 'well-known criminals from west Dublin', were in the vehicle which contained a box addressed to O'Sullivan. In the box were 10 BQ Aquaris phones, the type preferred for use with the Encrochat system, and all were marked with user's codenames. One of those men, Jordan Keogh (29) from Rowlagh Park in Clondalkin, was later jailed for money laundering after being caught with €122,715 in November 2020. The following year, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau caught him in possession of an automatic handgun and ammunition. He was caught again with €47,950 in September that year, according to the affidavit evidence. €27K Rolex Another man in the car, Gareth Dunne (31), from Harelawn Crescent, has 82 previous convictions, including nine for drugs but 'these convictions do not accurately portray his level of involvement in the drug trafficking industry in west Dublin.' Dunne, who was formally warned by gardai about a threat to his life, was found with €27,151 in cash while on his way to buy a Rolex watch from a city centre jewellers in May 2020. O'Sullivan's links to Christy Kinahan Snr and other cartel figures such as Bernard Clancy and Chris Casserly were highlighted, along with his drug dealing convictions in Spain and Holland. Judge Alexander Owens last week found that the 34 iPhones, 18 Google Pixel smartphones, 10 Samsung Galaxy phones, a Rolex watch and a one-ounce gold coin found in the 2020 searches were all the proceeds of crime. Also included was €3,060 cash that was seized during the search of the house in Glenageary and his girlfriend's house in Tulfarris, Co Wicklow. Ciaran 'Sam' O'Sullivan was a one time protégé of Christy Kinahan Snr, left Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 7th
Sunday World
06-07-2025
- Sunday World
Key members of ‘The Family' drugs gang splash the cash after jetting off to Ibiza
Suspected gang members were spotted living it up on the party island last month after flying out from Ireland to celebrate an upcoming wedding Six people were arrested after the network was hacked Six people were arrested after the network was hacked Key members of 'The Family' drugs gang splashed the cash after jetting off to Ibiza for a stag weekend — just months after gardai looked to have smashed the mob by hacking into their encrypted phone network. The suspected gang members were spotted living it up on the party island last month after flying out from Ireland to celebrate an upcoming wedding. A source said the party included a number of key associates of the leader of 'The Family' mob, as well as a 'tech expert' who operated the Ghost encrypted phone network for the west Dublin gang. However, the source claimed one of the gang leaders pulled out at the last minute because he believed he was under surveillance. Six people were arrested after the network was hacked The Ghost network claimed to provide criminals with devices that could not be infiltrated by police due to a special triple-encryption system. A source told the Sunday World that 'no expense' was spared with members of the gang splashing the cash on the weekend trip. Known as 'The Family', the gang have filled the void left by the demise of the Kinahan Cartel and are regarded as major importers of cocaine and heroin into the country. However, it appeared that gardai had effectively brought down the leadership of gang when they carried out a series of raids in March. Three brothers, including the overall gang boss, were among six people arrested as part of country's first major encrypted phone hack case. Six people were arrested after the network was hacked Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 6th The arrested men also included a 'tech expert' who is suspected of selling and maintaining the encrypted communication devices. They were held after gardai accessed the gang's day-to-day business when the encrypted network Ghost network was hacked last September as part of an international policing operation. After the Ghost network was compromised, gardai seized €15.2m of cocaine, €350,000 in cash, €320,000 worth of cannabis and a further €100,000 of heroin from the gang following 33 searches and the seizure of 42 devices. A further 153 electronic devices were also seized from suspected gang members at that time. But days after their arrests, the gang's leaders were released without charge — with a file being prepared for the DPP — despite the wealth of evidence exposed on the encrypted phones. To date, Ireland has remained an outlier when it comes to prosecutions involving evidence against criminal groups and individuals discovered on encrypted networks. An Garda Siochana have failed to bring any cases relating to the Encrochat takedown despite the fact that numerous successful prosecutions have been taken in Northern Ireland and hundreds of networks have been dismantled and jailed in the UK. It is understood that the evidence against the leadership of 'The Family' found on the phones is overwhelming but, months later, the DPP has yet to give direction on charges. Last year, gardai teamed up with their international partners after French authorities broke into two Ghost network servers and made contact with Europol. The investigation subsequently revealed that Australia and Ireland were the two countries with the greatest use of the Ghost system. As well as 'The Family', a Wicklow-based crime gang were also on the devices, and a separate Irish crime group was supplying and operating the phones. Despite the fact that the Ghost encrypted phone network was used almost exclusively for organised crime, it was run by a 'computer geek'. Jay Je Yoon Jung, (32), from Sydney in Australia, has been charged with allegedly creating and administering the Ghost network from a room in his parents' quiet suburban home. Even while running the Ghost network, he continued to work for his parents' commercial cleaning business in the Sydney suburb of Narwee. According to neighbours, he was the polite and quiet 'perfect son' who was well-known for his love of karaoke.
