A group of criminals from the North East who oversaw the importation of large amounts of cocaine – including loads concealed in empty gas cannisters – have been sentenced to a total of more than 141 years’ imprisonment.

The National Crime Agency investigated the offenders, with assistance from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) and Northumbria Police on some of the cases.

A number of the criminals used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to discuss their offending.

Details of the cases, which date back to the Covid 19 pandemic, can be released after reporting restrictions were lifted at Newcastle Crown Court when three of the men were sentenced.

Among them was Kevin Taylor, 43, from Newcastle upon Tyne, whose EncroChat handle was “loyalmover”. He was jailed for 27 years in relation to a plot to supply more than 200 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £68.75 million, and his part in the importation of 172 kilos of cocaine hidden in the gas containers.

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