TWO Warrington drug dealers, caught facilitating the supply of cocaine and cannabis through their use of an ‘EncroChat’ encrypted messaging service used exclusively by serious and organised criminals, have been jailed.
Michael Sherwood, 53,of Vulcan Close, Padgate and Simon Johnson, 43, of Edward Gardens, Woolston, used codenames ‘Rooftile’ and ‘Rockethawk’ while accessing EncroChat, a secretive communications network cracked by international law enforcement in May 2020.
The pair were caught by detectives from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) following an analysis of their encrypted data where they discussed buying and selling bulk quantities of cocaine and cannabis, between March and June 2020.
They conspired with their Liverpool based upstream supplier, who went by the codename ‘Alissonbecker’, to conduct the onward supply of at least six kilos of cocaine during this period, with a further three kilos agreed with another upstream supplier and awaiting delivery, at the end of the EncroChat capture period.
During the investigation, detectives were able to access the detailed accounts kept by ‘Alissonbecker’, namely Excel spreadsheets, which evidenced the exact quantity that had been supplied to Sherwood and Johnson, as well as the total bill owed, the number of repayments, and the outstanding balance.
On Wednesday 8 April 2020, Johnson, (AKA ‘Rockethawk’) had arranged to buy one kilo of cocaine from ‘Alissonbecker’ for £42,000. Johnson’s EncroChat data documents that he then sold this onto his downstream customers for £44,000.
This transaction occurred six times in total as displayed in the messages between Johnson and ‘Alissonbecker’.
As well as cocaine, Sherwood and Johnson were involved in the supply of up to 103 kilos of cannabis. The pair had a number of upstream suppliers, including ‘Allisonbecker’, whose spreadsheet confirmed he had supplied the defendants with 35 kilos of cannabis. Johnson also bought 10 kilos of cannabis from another supplier, paying £5,500 per kilo. Sherwood would assist with this logistics of collecting the drugs and the onward distribution.
The data captured allowed detectives to identify that Johnson led the operation and employed Sherwood as an associate to assist him with facilitating the significant drug deals between upstream and downstream suppliers.
Johnson was trusted by his upstream suppliers to accrue large debts by obtaining drugs on credit. The spreadsheet kept by ‘Allisonbecker’ highlighted that Johnson had owed a total of £371,800, and that he had made repayments to the amount of £283,455.
Johnson and Sherwood were both arrested on Tuesday 3 December 2024 following a warrant at Sherwood’s “business” address on Sedgewick Court, Warrington.
Following a search of Sherwood’s address, detectives recovered a large quantity of cash, a quantity of cannabis, and multiple mobile phones.
A warrant was also conducted at Johnson’s address on Edward Gardens in Woolston, Warrington, following his arrest. Here, detectives found a quantity of cannabis, a mobile phone, and a number of high value items, including boxing memorabilia and a Rolex watch.
Boxing memorabilia
Both men pleaded guilty to the offences. Simon Johnson was sentenced to ten years in prison, and Michael Sherwood was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Detectives monitored their criminal communication and gathered evidence over a three-month period.
Philip Tully, defending Johnson, a dad-of-three said that while six kilos of cocaine was supplied there was no evidence that a further three that had been discussed had been provided. He also said he had been involved with 87 kilos of cannabis not 103.
“He expressed genuine remorse. He has a good work record and was in employee unit 2020 when he lost his job through Covid and made the foolish decision to become involved in supplying drugs for the financial support of his family.”
Defence barrister Lloyd Morgan said that Sherwood was also genuinely remorseful and he pointed out that the offences date back almost five years. He has been a model prisoner in jail and helped with mentoring fellow prisoners.
After the hearing Detective Chief Inspector Nick Henderson, from Cheshire Constabulary’s SOCU, said: “These men were part of a well-established organised crime group that supplied multi-kilo quantities of class A and B drugs.
“While Johnson led the operation, negotiating prices and arranging deals, his handyman Sherwood would facilitate the logistics and the collection of the drugs. Both men played a significant role in peddling dangerous drugs into the county before pocketing the profits and living lavishly on their proceeds of crime.
“They believed EncroChat was a safe and secure service that would enable them to message freely and openly without being detected. They quickly became comfortable sharing personal details which made it even easier for our detectives to piece together the evidence and ensure the defendants had no option but to plead guilty.”
Cocaine blocks
