On September 30, 2022 drug trafficker Dean Smith (27) also known as “Swampmaster” received 13 years behind bars for his role in an extensive drug operation. The collective he was a member of distributed coke, heroin, and marijuana throughout the United Kingdom.
Dean Smith AKA Swampmaster Sentenced to 13 Years for His Role in UK Drug Trafficking Ring
Smith worked with Dean Anderson (46) in the trafficking ring as a plug or supplier. In this role, he had a direct line to his suppliers in Colombia with a goal of bringing 100 kg of coke into the United Kingdom. He and Anderson would fall far short of this goal but still managed to distribute quite a bit of drugs into England and Scotland.
The ring used EncroChat, a phone service provider that allowed for encrypted communication. It was used heavily by drug smugglers and traffickers to do their dirt without using conventional service providers.
Remember, most countries and jurisdictions also charge for using telecommunications in furtherance of drug trafficking.
For a while, this was the workaround for the bigger traffickers until the service closed down in June 2020. What brought down EncroChat were the very people using it to conduct trafficking business.
After authorities cracked the service, they were able to find out the movements of traffickers and stockpile evidence.
This was a Europe-wide investigation and Swampmaster—who got the name via EncroChat—was one of those caught up as a result of EncroChat falling. The Serious and Organized Crime Unit’s Operation Olympia ran for 10 months and managed to nab Mark Cavanagh (32), drug ring leader out of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, England.
Dean Smith was Cavanagh’s supplier until the Cavanagh firm was busted up and the leader was given 14 years in September 2020. Smith’s partner, Dean Anderson was also captured and sentenced to 14 years and 4 months.
Eventually, Swampmaster was captured in the operation after his phone was destroyed in a van searched by authorities. Also found during that search was marijuana and a bag of money.
During his time as a drug trafficker, Smith was responsible for moving 30 kg of marijuana, 19 kg of coke, and 8 kg of heroin throughout the UK.
Dean Smith would plead guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs resulting in his 13-year sentence at the end of September 2022.
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