Two members of an organised crime group that ran one of the largest amphetamine factories ever found in the UK have been jailed.
National Crime Agency investigators identified encrypted messaging platform EncroChat was being used to run the illicit drugs laboratory near Redditch.
The drugs lab was capable of producing 400 kilos of amphetamine per month, worth £2 million at wholesale and up to £10 million at street level.
The drugs were distributed to dealers in the West Midlands, London and Kent.
Group ringleader John Keet, 41, of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, invested profits from a career dealing cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines into building and managing the lab.
He paid for his right hand man, Keith Davis, 62, also of Chalfont St Giles, to undergo chemistry training to enable him to operate the site.
Andrew Gurney, 51, of Quinton, Birmingham, known as ‘The Geek’ due to his specialist electrical installation and plumbing skills, converted what had been a double garage outbuilding into the drugs lab.
Gurney also received the same chemistry training as Davis.
Davis was jailed for five years and three months and Gurney to six years and three months at Kingston Crown Court today (10 June).
Keet is due to be sentenced on 22 August.
Work started on the building in March 2020 and it began producing drugs in May of that year. The gang initially bought amphetamine pre-cursor chemical benzyl methyl ketone (BMK) but quickly realised it was more profitable to make it themselves.
NCA officers raided the site in Ullenhall Lane, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, on 27 April last year, with assistance from Warwickshire Police.
Plumes of noxious fumes billowed from the outbuilding when it was opened by specialist crews from West Midlands Fire Service, who had to wait several hours before searching it due to the hazardous chemicals inside.
Waste products from the production process, which had been flushed into the sewerage system, had also contaminated a nearby field.
The NCA’s investigation formed part of Operation Venetic, the UK law enforcement response to the July 2020 takedown of the EncroChat encrypted communication service.
NCA Branch Commander Matt McMillan said: “Keith Davis and Andrew Gurney had key roles in running one of the largest drugs laboratories ever found in the UK.
“Under the direction of John Keet, they meticulously planned this criminal enterprise – even undergoing chemistry training to run the laboratory.
“The drugs produced will have fuelled violence, fear and exploitation in communities across the UK.
“Closing down this lab is a great example of multi-agency cooperation to protect the public.”
The gang members were all arrested on suspicion of drug offences at their home addresses on the same day.
Electronic weighing scales were found in Davis’ home, along with 300 kilos of BMK at a storage facility he had access to.
A number of documents and receipts were found in Gurney’s vehicles. These related to heating equipment identified in the lab, weighing scales and chemicals needed for amphetamine production.
Officers also found PPE, including respirators and wellington boots which had chemical traces of amphetamine on them.
Davis and Gurney were convicted at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday (8 June), following a 12-day trial.
Keet pleaded guilty to all the charges at the same court on 29 October last year.
Elliott Walker, 49, of Kidbrooke, south London, was an associate of Keet and purchased specialist equipment for the lab. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce class B drugs (amphetamine) on 17 September last year and was jailed for six years on 14 December.
Two members of an organised crime group that ran one of the largest amphetamine factories ever found in the UK have been jailed.
National Crime Agency investigators identified encrypted messaging platform EncroChat was being used to run the illicit drugs laboratory near Redditch.
The drugs lab was capable of producing 400 kilos of amphetamine per month, worth £2 million at wholesale and up to £10 million at street level. The drugs were distributed to dealers in the West Midlands, London and Kent.
Group ringleader John Keet, 41, of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, invested profits from a career dealing cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines into building and managing the lab.
He paid for his right hand man, Keith Davis, 62, also of Chalfont St Giles, to undergo chemistry training to enable him to operate the site.
Andrew Gurney, 51, of Quinton, Birmingham, known as ‘The Geek’ due to his specialist electrical installation and plumbing skills, converted what had been a double garage outbuilding into the drugs lab.
Gurney also received the same chemistry training as Davis.
Davis was jailed for five years and three months and Gurney to six years and three months at Kingston Crown Court today (10 June).
Keet is due to be sentenced on 22 August.
Work started on the building in March 2020 and it began producing drugs in May of that year. The gang initially bought amphetamine pre-cursor chemical benzyl methyl ketone (BMK) but quickly realised it was more profitable to make it themselves.
NCA officers raided the site in Ullenhall Lane, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, on 27 April last year, with assistance from Warwickshire Police.
Plumes of noxious fumes billowed from the outbuilding when it was opened by specialist crews from West Midlands Fire Service, who had to wait several hours before searching it due to the hazardous chemicals inside. Waste products from the production process, which had been flushed into the sewerage system, had also contaminated a nearby field.
The NCA’s investigation formed part of Operation Venetic, the UK law enforcement response to the July 2020 takedown of the EncroChat encrypted communication service.
NCA Branch Commander Matt McMillan said: “Keith Davis and Andrew Gurney had key roles in running one of the largest drugs laboratories ever found in the UK.
“Under the direction of John Keet, they meticulously planned this criminal enterprise – even undergoing chemistry training to run the laboratory.
“The drugs produced will have fuelled violence, fear and exploitation in communities across the UK.
“Closing down this lab is a great example of multi-agency cooperation to protect the public.”
The gang members were all arrested on suspicion of drug offences at their home addresses on the same day.
Electronic weighing scales were found in Davis’ home, along with 300 kilos of BMK at a storage facility he had access to.
A number of documents and receipts were found in Gurney’s vehicles. These related to heating equipment identified in the lab, weighing scales and chemicals needed for amphetamine production. Officers also found PPE, including respirators and wellington boots which had chemical traces of amphetamine on them.
Davis and Gurney were convicted at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday (8 June), following a 12-day trial.
Keet pleaded guilty to all the charges at the same court on 29 October last year.
Elliott Walker, 49, of Kidbrooke, south London, was an associate of Keet and purchased specialist equipment for the lab.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce class B drugs (amphetamine) on 17 September last year and was jailed for six years on 14 December.
SECRECY IS PRICELESS
Offline “ Air Gapped” Super Encryption Mobile Machines.
Ultra Encrypted Text Messaging with No Cellular or Internet Connection. No Servers.
Encryption Keys generated offline by the user , never exchanged with third parties and erased permanently after each session.
More Secure than a Face To Face Meeting.
More details?
Consult with our
Cyber Defense Experts at : Info@DigitalBankVault.com
Visit us today at : https://www.digitalbank.capital/knox-encrypted-smartphone
SECRECY IS PRICELESS
Offline “ Air Gapped” Super Encryption Mobile Machines.
SECRECY IS PRICELESS
Offline “ Air Gapped” Super Encryption Mobile Machines.
Full technical details:
Cyber War Grade, Mathematically UnCrackable, Quantum Safe, Air Gapped (Offline) Encryption Machines More details ? Click here: ENCRYGMA.com .
“ If you need to communicate top classified information or you need to store secret data and be absolutely sure that no state-sponsored hackers, no foreign Governments , no intelligence agencies will be ever able to decipher the files, you need an Above Military Level Offline SuperEncryption System”
Visit us today at : https://www.digitalbank.capital/knox-encrypted-smartphone
HOW TO PREVENT THE NEXT ENCROCHAT & SKY ECC HACKING ?
Rule number 1 ☝🏼:
EncroChat evidences has been collected from the storage on the devices seized . A real military grade encryption device can’t be ever accessed by any digital forensic tools such as Cellebrite.
Rule number 2 :
Never 👎 use encryption services that are server based . Servers can be hacked easily and all data passing through them can be intercept. Servers also store the messages so that also this cloud based storage can be accessed and used as evidence.
Rule number 3:
Never , ⛔️ ever trust their party encryption services. The moment you trust a third party for generating your encryption keys, manage and store them for you , it’s game over . It’s like giving the keys of your bank vault to a total stranger .
Rule number 4 :
Stop 🛑 trusting cheap online encrypted phone suppliers! ⚠️ The garbage online are fake encrypted phones based on a $ 50 USD cheap Android cellphone bought in China and installed with a very low level security end to end encrypted messaging app.
Work like a pro, like intelligence agencies do ! Stop being scammed by online marketers selling you security illusions .
Need absolute privacy? Consult with our cyber defense advisors at info@DigitalBank.Capital or visit https://www.digitalbank.capital/knox-encrypted-smartphone
Cyber War Ultra Encrypted Communications.
This is an encrypted text message, that has been encrypted with an OTP cipher (quantum safe encryption- mathematically unbreakable) , on a DBV “ Air Gapped “ Offline SuperEncryption Machine. The Encrypted message is then exported from the offline device by visual means( no connections , not even physical) by scanning the QR code with an online device for then sending it safely online.
The QR code at is arrival, is scanned by the second DBV offline encryption machine , directly from the receiving online device. Afterwards , it’s deciphered safely offline. This form of super encrypted offline communications is safer than a face to face meeting .
More details? Consult with our cyber defense advisors at info@DigitalBankVault.com or visit ENCRYGMA.com
More details on this PDF : https://www.digitalbank.capital/_files/ugd/f12fcd_3c29cd00f3b34a44af4da777920be2f3.pdf
Visit us today at : https://www.digitalbank.capital/knox-encrypted-smartphone