A Rochdale man has been jailed for five years and three months for his role in an Organised Crime Group (OCG) involved in the large-scale drug supply.

Kane Worthington (34) of Boarshaw Road, Rochdale, played a significant role in the distribution of drugs, acting as the middleman between suppliers and customers.

He will serve 63 months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and 36 months concurrently for conspiracy to supply class B drugs.

At the forefront of this investigation is the use of encrypted mobile phones, which falls under Operation Venetic, the UK’s response to disrupt the encrypted communication system used by organised criminal networks.

The technology behind these devices previously made it impossible for police to obtain any data or evidence from the devices.

Unfortunately for Worthington, the disruption of Encro chat allowed officers to access the encrypted data which has ultimately resulted in his conviction.

Content on the encrypted phone revealed messages from Worthington, who was using the alias ‘loftyrocket’, was messaging suppliers and customers across Manchester, arranging drop offs and pickups of cannabis and cocaine, prices and how much money he owed to one supplier.

The court heard how between March 26, 2020 and May 23, 2020, Worthington was in conversation with 25 different handles during that period.

It is thought that the street value of the 4kg of cocaine and 16lbs of cannabis would have yielded a return of close to £500,000.

Detective inspector Richard Castley said: “Worthington not only dealt drugs but showed utter contempt for public safety during a national pandemic, continuing his criminal enterprise while law-abiding abiding citizens made sacrifices to protect the NHS.

“This sentence sends a clear message to criminals who think they can operate outside of the law. Our teams will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt drug supply chains and bring offenders to justice.

“Though some work into drug investigations can’t always be seen – there is a lot going on behind the scenes. We will always listen to our communities’ concerns and any information or issues that are fed to us can sometimes hugely assist our on-going investigations.”

Anyone with information or concerns should report to police online at www.gmp.police.uk or via 101.