Washington gym instructor jailed over role in cocaine network after French police infiltrate

A cocaine dealer who was snared after police infiltrated an encrypted communications network used by criminal gangs has been jailed.

Gym instructor Kyle Atcheson was one of thousands of EncroChat users who believed their conversations on the system were confidential and could be used to discuss illegal activities with no risk.

But after French police accessed the system Atcheson was easily identified as the user "Tank Master" because he had sent messages about his homelife and even mentioned his postcode.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Atcheson, 31, of Rushton Way, Washington, was in contact with other members of an organised crime group over the network, using a designated phone.

When French police got access to a server used to store Encrochat messages, they revealed damning texts showing Atcheson was involved in the purchase and supply of drugs, mainly cocaine. But he had also used the expensive device for personal reasons.

Paul Cross, prosecuting, said: "The defendant sent his postcode and personal messages that could only relate to him. There were also links between the phone and his ordinary phone."

The court heard Atcheson was being supplied kilos and half kilos by others and was then selling the drugs to street dealers.

The total amount of cocaine that he could be proven to be involved with was around 3.25 kilos, worth around £141,000.

Atcheson, who has never been in trouble before, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and has been jailed for 85 months.

Recorder Mark Giuliani told him: "Those with whom you are intimately involved speak very highly of you and you have been a good father to your two children.

"However you willingly engaged in buying cocaine to sell on to street dealers. It's clear from the EncroChat network you were using the network to buy and sell drugs.

"Perhaps what singles out your role slightly differently is that for some reason you were using the EncroChat phone to make personal calls as a result of which it was easy for the authorities to identify you. That shows a lack of sophistication on your part."

He added: "You must realise cocaine is a serious drug. Cocaine usage and supply undermines the very fabric of this democracy.

"It encourages people to engage in using class A drugs, which is dangerous and causes addiction which leads to crime and it funds organised criminal gangs who make vast profits from this and to protect their profits they engage in criminal activity. You involved yourself willingly in that operation."

Jeremy Barton, defending, said: "He was a man of hitherto good character. There is no suggestion he had been involved in anything like this in the past and it was a relatively short episode of offending.

"His introduction to drugs in this case came from his own use of drugs. Like many that use drugs that get themselves into difficulties when it comes to paying for those drugs, he dabbled and rather had his fingers burned."

Mr Barton said Atcheson had worked as a gym instructor and has a family.

He added that seemingly valuable clothing and watches found at his home were fake.