Dad's double life running £40m crime gang exposed after cops hack his phone and raid his luxury home
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA dad-of-two who led a double life as a ‘lynchpin’ of a £40 million drugs conspiracy has been jailed for 23 years. Bolton businessman Irtiza Bashir used Encrochat to concoct elaborate plans to smuggle huge quantities of cocaine and cannabis from Holland to the North West.
Bashir, 46, kept ‘meticulous’ notes on his Encrochat profile ‘Weststreet’, including a proposed import route and plans to hide the drugs in frozen chicken vans , a court heard.
There were also references to more than 500kg of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis. His plans came crashing down when the Encrochat system - used exclusively by members of organised crime groups to plan criminal activities - was hacked by police.
He was arrested on December 16 2021 after police raided his luxury home in Chorley New Road, Lostock, as well as his company - Globe Recycling Services, in Haslingden, Lancashire. READ MORE : Carer, 45, horrified to find favourite layby for taking a break from work is seedy hotspot - as she's approached TWICE in 48 hours In the Encrochat messages, police uncovered photographs that were clearly taken from inside Bashir’s home.
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