Four members of a drug gang have been sentenced for their roles in a cocaine operation tied to a former footballer
The ringleader, Carl O’Flaherty, got over 17 years in prison last year. His gang was busted during Operation Venetic, which targeted encrypted communications used by criminals.
From 2019 to late 2020, they bought tons of cocaine and chemicals to make amphetamines. They set up shop in Leeds and Bradford, where they had people, called ‘chefs,’ cooking up the drugs for sale.
On January 7, three of O’Flaherty’s associates were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after a three-week trial. Michael Stanislawczuk, known as ‘Sizabelarm’ on EncroChat, got 12 years for his role as a chef. He even tried to extract cocaine from 37 liters of oil, but it didn’t work out.
Then there’s David Brierley, another chef who went by ‘Kingchef-uk.’ He was sentenced to 12 years and six months for making amphetamines.
Safdar Pervez, a taxi driver who acted as a courier for the gang, got 11 years. He was moving large amounts of drugs and cash around the north of England.
One of his regular stops was County Durham, where he delivered kilos of diluted cocaine to Daryll Hall, a top customer of O’Flaherty. Hall was sentenced to 15 years but skipped out before the trial started. They’re still trying to track him down.
The NCA got onto this whole operation after finding a bag of cocaine and an EncroChat phone in the car of former Leeds United player Paul Shepherd back in April 2020. They searched his house and found a Glock, a sniper rifle, and a bunch of ammo. Shepherd ended up with over nine years in prison.
The investigation revealed how the gang worked. They bought high-purity cocaine in bulk, diluted it, and sold it for a profit.
NCA Operations Manager Nigel Coles said they’ve taken down the entire gang, from the mastermind to the couriers. He emphasized that this has made communities safer by stopping harmful drugs and seizing dangerous firearms.
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