Lancashire man charged with heroin and cocaine offences after police infiltrate Encrochat messaging platform

By Matthew Calderbank
Published 6th Oct 2022, 12:36 BST
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A man from Lancashire has been charged with conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

Owen Sheerin, 35, of Smithy Lane, Scarisbrick is accused of selling the Class A drugs using Encrochat, an encrypted messaging platform infiltrated by police in 2020.

He has also been charged with possession/use of criminal property.

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A second man, John Robert Green, 54, of Tree View Court, Maghull was charged with the same offences.

Owen Sheerin, 35, of Smithy Lane, Scarisbrick has been charged with possession of a controlled class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and possession/use of criminal propertyOwen Sheerin, 35, of Smithy Lane, Scarisbrick has been charged with possession of a controlled class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and possession/use of criminal property
Owen Sheerin, 35, of Smithy Lane, Scarisbrick has been charged with possession of a controlled class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and possession/use of criminal property

Both men were remanded into custody and appeared at Wirral Magistrates Court on Monday (October 3).

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They will next appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Monday, October 10.

The charge forms part of the Merseyside Police response to Operation Venetic – a national investigation into the use of encrypted mobile devices, commonly referred to as Encrochat.

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What is Operation Venetic?

In 2020, a joint operation between UK, French and Dutch police hacked into EncroChat's service, putting malware on the server allowing them to interrupt the panic wipe feature, access messages sent between users and record lock screen PINs.

As a result of the infiltration, UK police arrested 746 individuals, including major crime bosses, intercepted two tonnes of drugs (with a street value at the time in excess of £100 million), seized £54 million in cash, as well as weapons, including submachine guns, handguns, grenades, an AK-47 assault rifle, and more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition.