A "wholesale" EncroChat supplier who shared pictures of himself posing with drugs was arrested when he landed at Manchester Airport.
John Barton, who went by the EncroChat name 'CityHawk', used the encrypted messaging platform to sell huge quantities of class A drugs. However, detectives targeting the EncroChat network following the hack in 2020 identified Barton from the encrypted data where he had shared images taken at his home addresses in Walton and Formby.
These included a selfie of Barton posing with what appears to be a wrap of cocaine. Another image – a picture of a Walther PKK handgun – sent to fellow EncroChat user Daniel Rushworth allowed detectives to tie the two criminals' seemingly unrelated offending together.
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Liverpool Crown Court heard earlier this week how the pair, whose principle trades involved drug supply, saw an opportunity to make money through the brokering of the gun. Barton, formerly of Green Street, Vauxhall, was involved in the supply of at least 140kg of cocaine between March 26 2020 and June 3 2020.
However, Gerald Baxter, prosecuting, told the court on November 1 how Barton messaged Rushworth, whose EncroChat name was 'OctoRed', a photo of the gun after he was offered the weapon as a drug debt. After receiving the picture, Rushworth asked "is that for sale, yeah?" to which Barton confirmed.
Rushworth then asked "any slugs" before sending on a copied message from an unidentified potential buyer which said: "That's a…this me pal was on about…don't ask me mad questions about it cos I don't know. La's just aim it at people and shoot them."
The handgun never exchanged hands however and the crown's conspiracy to sell/transfer a prohibited weapon count related to the brief messages between the pair. Rushworth, who was described as a money man who collected, counted and passed on dirty cash while taking a cut, was also involved in the supply of class B drug cannabis, and to a lesser extent, the supply of cocaine.
The court heard how Rushworth's home on Deerbarn Drive, Netherton, was raided on June 1 2022 by specialist officers where he was arrested. After police forced entry they found a hide behind a mirror inside the house which could only be accessed via a remote controlled magnetic lock.
Inside they found £100,000, half a kilo of cocaine, a money counter, vacuum sealer and expensive items including jewellery and golf clubs. Investigations into his EncroChat activity revealed that between November 17 2019 and May 28 2020 Rushworth stayed in contact with 21 other operators regarding the sale of 178kg of cannabis worth over £2.8m and another one and a half kg of cocaine.
Trevor Parry-Jones, representing Rushworth, said his client was pulled into the criminal lifestyle due to a gambling habit. He said: "Once one owes money it gathers momentum". He told the court Rushworth understood he would receive a substantial sentence but had difficulty understanding the firearms charge.
Mr Parry-Jones said Rushworth enquired on behalf of someone else and there was only a short period of messages regarding the gun. He added the person who enquired about the firearm, who is known to the courts but was not named in proceedings, had not been prosecuted, nor had the person who offered the gun to Barton.
Rushworth, who wrote a statement before his police interview admitting to being 'OctoRed', pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis and money laundering at the lower courts. He pleaded guilty to the count of conspiracy to sell/transfer a prohibited weapon on the day of his trial.
Frank Dillon, representing Barton, told the court how the defendant never had possession of the firearm and had made a "foolish decision to mention it" to Rushworth. Mr Dillon acknowledged his client was a "sophisticated and active dealer of drugs" but the firearm was "a side issue" in the crown's case.
He said the gun was a "dangerous weapon that if pursued would have wreaked havoc, however the plot was strangled at birth and never got off the ground". He added the weapon was never brokered to protect drug supply or enforce a drug debt. The prosecution's case against Barton was delayed due to the fact he was arrested in the Netherlands for a separate, unconnected offence which saw him jailed for six months. A warrant was issued for his arrest – and Barton was arrested by police when he landed at Manchester Airport in November last year.
The Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Andrew Menary KC, said that Rushworth and Barton's offending was uncovered by the 2020 EncroChat hack and both cases got to court due to "diligent police work". The judge said the brokering of a weapon was "not both defendants' principle trade but they saw the opportunity to make money by selling the lethal weapon".
He added: "EncroChat evidence demonstrates drugs and guns go hand in hand. The shooting incidents around the city are due to the miserable, life destroying trade of drugs." Judge Menary added Barton clearly played a leading role in his supply of drugs, while Rushworth took both a leading and a significant role for his part as a money man.
Judge Menary told the pair that he took into account the totality of their offending, their guilty pleas and their families' support. Barton, who sported cropped grey hair and wore sportswear, was jailed for 21 years. Rushworth, who had dark hair and wore a white shirt, was jailed for 16 years, four months.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing for both men will be held in February next year. Both men barely reacted when they accepted their fate and were led down to the cells.
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